Changing colors
by WhiteWolfKitsune
Summary: Edward is paying for his sins by involuntarily inflicting pain upon others. Nobody seems to be able to stop his bloody rampage... except maybe Roy Mustang. How will one Elric Brother cope when the other is corrupted? Parental!RoyEdAl, AU. FINISHED!
1. Finding out

-1HELLO MY DUCKYS!!!

Well, you have managed to stumble upon my fic. Yeah, the timelines screw up, Ed likes to kill people and is suicidal, but hey: We all need something to care about in our lives: and this is my thing! So, enjoy!

_Italics- _Eds thoughts

START.

Changing Colors

"Fullmetal, what the hell!" The sounds of an enraged colonel hit lieutenant Hawkeye's ears, causing her to barricade them with her hands.

"Colonel, please refrain from yelling." She said stiffly, pushing the door open slightly and poking her head into Mustangs room. "This office has neighbours which Im sure can hear you very well."

_He's really hurting my head. _

"Fine, but he needs to be taught a lesson." Roy mustang, Flame alchemist, said through gritted teeth, shooting daggers at the young man in front of him. "Edward, when will you learn! You cant go round destroying large buildings on our budget! You know, one of these days Im-"

Edward snorted, refusing to argue with him. It wasn't his fault that Colonel shit-head had sent him on a mission to capture some ex-alchemist on the run and a few buildings had been destroyed. Though come to think of it, it kind of was…

_Yeah, but if he didn't send me there in the first place…_

"-food bills are huge! Do you understand what Im saying, Fullmetal! Now hurry up and give me the report, as I asked you when you first entered this office!" The colonel finished, an angry look on his pale features. Edward sighed and handed him the report, complete with the blondes own scruffy handwriting, which was apparently another excuse to rant.

"Jeez, Fullmetal, I can hardly read this! And- what?" Roy said moving it closer to his face. "Theres a time skip here. You were on the mission for 1 week, yet only 6 of the 7 days are filled out! This was supposed to be a daily report, Edward! What happened?" The colonel shrieked, reaching screaming point. "Are you trying to make me look bad?"

_He should just shut-up already._

"I don't know! I filled this out every single night!" Edward yelled back, face turning red as he edged closer to the desk. "Look, even ask Al!"

_I know…_

"I see, Fullmetal. You got lazy and stopped doing the work!" Roy snorted.

…_I can…_

"No! I remember! I did fill it out every night!"

…_Shut him up myself!_

"So what happened to Wednesday? Did it just disappear into thin air?! Look, I know sometimes its hard to accept mistakes, but face it, Fullmetal, you didn't write it. Al would probably tell me the same story if I -" The Colonels speech was interrupted by a fist coming into contact with his face, sending him flying into the near by wall Still a little dazed, he Staggered back to his feet, onyx eyes dancing on fire.

"You can call me what ever you want." Ed stated, his teeth baring, reminding Roy of a wild animal. "But DON'T YOU EVER call Al a LIAR!" He hissed keeping eye contact on the man in front of him. Blinking, his felt the urge to kill the man fade, and be replaced by confusion.

Roy was lost for words. He'd never seen such an outburst from the boy before, let alone been struck by him. Snapping out of his thoughts, he realised the boy was gone from his sight, and Hawkeye had replaced him, a serious look on her face.

"What, may I ask sir, is going on?" She asked, drawing her pistol.

"I don't know, lieutenant." Roy stated, cradling his head in his hands. "But Im going to find out."

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Edward continued to run back to the hotel him and Al were staying at, breath coming from him in little gasps as he crashed through his rooms door. _What the hell did I just do? _He thought shakily taking off his jacket and placing it on a rather shabby couch.

"Al!" He called, getting no reply in return. "Alphonse!" There was that feeling again, the feeling that he was going to go crazy if he didn't find him. Frantically searching the whole house for him, he gave up collapsing on the floor. _Hes gone. I knew it! I knew he didn't forgive me for all that's happened to him! I knew he'd run away and leave me, I should have known he hated me from the start- _

"Brother? Why are you doing on the floor?" A voice entered into his head.

"Al?" He yelped, turning around with tears in his eyes. "Alphonse?!"

"Um… yeah, Brother. Why are you crying?"

_Because I think you hate me._

_Because I think you blame me_

_Because I know you'll leave me. _

"No reason." Edward said, flashing Al a warm smile. "No reason at all."

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I know its short, but hey XD Don't worry, the chapters get longer… And Ed gets crazier… OO

There's violence in the next few chapters, so if you don't like, DON'T READ.

Its ok, though… I like violence… -Evil grin-

Ready to see more Ed-going-crazy action? Click on the next chapter!

Thankyou:3


	2. Violence

OMG!!! REVEIWS!!! party's Thank you, my reviewers, I love you all!

Roy-fan-33- When I type my next chapter, I'll send it to you to check! Thank you! And I'll change Nissan to brother now J

Ps- sorry for the spelling and grammar mistake, I don't know how to take auto-correct off of the computer XD Here's the next chapter!

_Italics- _thoughts.

Changing colors

Edward awoke quickly from sleep that night, his eyes bleary and his head hurting. Trying to get out of bed, he groaned, his feet didn't even get to touch the floor before he heard his younger sibling.

"Brother?" Al's voice rang out from the corner, the red glow emitting from his eyes bright. "Where are you going?"

_You know what Al? Sometimes I wish you had died back then. _

"For god sake, Al, im only going to the bathroom!" Edward snapped, feeling as though his auto-mail weighed a ton more heavier than it did before. "Stop trying to pry into my personal life!" Slamming the bathroom door behind him, he braced himself against the wall, his breathing heavy. He looked down at his left hand, which was shaking a bit. He'd been like this for a while now, randomly snapping and shouting at people for no apparent reason. And after that, he always felt like he wanted to hurt something.

Someone.

_Anything. _

"For god sake!" He yelled, punching the tiles with an auto-mail fist. "Why is this happening!" He punched it again, continuing this until the tiles surrounding him where nothing but powder.

"Brother! What are you doing!" Al screamed from behind the door.

_Then my life wouldn't be so broken._

"Piss off, Al, I don't need you around right now!" He hissed, switching his hands so he was punching the wall with his real hand now. Before even realising what was happening, he could feel the blood dribbling rapidly down his arm, its hot surface awaking him from his rage.

"That's it, brother, im coming in!" Al yelled, literally breaking the door in half by sheer force. He was shocked by what he saw.

His brothers hand was covered in crimson, bone splintering out of his skin where he had punched the wall repeatedly. Blood still flowed around his fingers, dripping onto the floor below. Most of the tiles on the wall were destroyed.

_I disserved it. _

"Brother, what's wrong with you? You shout at me, you destroy the bathroom, you hurt yourself, what's going on?" Al shrieked, running over to a cupboard that contained bandages. No answer was heard.

"Brother, talk to me!" Al said, spinning around and eying his tired and hurt looking brother.

"You know I love you, right, Al?" He whispered, eyes lowering to the floor. "You know I'd kill myself if you were gone, right?"

"Brother?"

"Well, you know, I might as well kill myself, because your not _here_ really, your just some memories I made and put into a suit of armour that somehow walks around."

"What are you saying, brother?" Al whimpered, taking a step back. "What do you mean?"

"Well, im saying you should just _leave me alone_, your making my life _worse,_ pretending to be my family when _your not_." Edward said in a deathly quiet tone, tears springing to his eyes again. "Now go." He finished, pointing towards the door.

"…Im going to get you some help, _Edward_." Al hissed, much unlike himself, before walking out of the door and breaking into a run mid-stride.

Edward growled suddenly, stalking out of the room and sitting on the bed, injured hand still not covered. It hurt, but a least his headache was starting to go. Standing once more, he went to the front door, peaking slowly around the corner.

"Al? Where are you?" There was no sound in the corridor. Panic came again.

"Shitshitshitshitshit!" He yelled, not caring about his clothes or the fact he was in his pyjamas. "Al! Alphonse!" He screamed, running out of the hotel and into the street.

_What if he doesn't come back this time…_

_------------------------------_-----------------------------------------------------

"Alphonse, calm down!" Roy mustang shushed, trying to get the armour to stop hyperventilating (if he could do that). "So Edward said he wanted you to go away? Well, after what he did to me yesterday, he doesn't deserve my help."

"Colonel, please!" Al begged. "I don't want him to hurt himself!"

"Alphonse, its 3'o clock in the morning, pitch dark, im not even dressed, you somehow found out where I live, and I have to be up in 2 hours to go to work-" Roy sulked, but then stopped as he noticed the pleading look in Al's eyes. "Fine, but this better be serious." He sighed, putting on some shoes.

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_Of course it was Al! That's my brother! _Edward mentally screeched, unconsciously running towards Central HQ. _My head hurts again…._

_Bang!_

_There's that feeling again._

"Whoops, sorry young man!" And old lady sat on the floor with Edward after he collided with her. "I didn't mean to walk into you like that-"

"What kind of _dumbass_, _fucked-up _bitch are you? Its early in the morning; so why are you even outside!" Edward spat, his eyes following the piece of string attached to the woman's hand, that had a little Yorkshire terrier puppy attached to it, who was barking at him. "Shut the fuck-up!" Edward snarled, whacking it in the head with him auto mail. The lead snapped through sheer force, sending the dog flying somewhere into the darkness, a pitiful yowl escaping its throat.

"Corky!" The woman cried, limping after it with her walking stick as fast as she could. The dog wasn't moving anymore.

"Serves it right. Nothing messes with the full metal alchemist!" He laughed, getting up quickly, his golden eyes flashing.

"Getting a bit of a big head, aren't we?" A low voice stated, accompanied by colonel mustang, a smirk on his face. "Its ok, Alphonse, I found him!" Slowly, the pair on onyx eyes made there way over to the crying old woman, who was positioned by a lump on the floor.

"Corky's dead! She's dead!" The woman howled, Roy's face going blank. He ran over to her, carefully picking the fluffy puppy up, and inspecting the bloodied dent in its head.

"Full metal, did you-"

"I-I don't know."

"But, you're the only one here-"

"I know, but it w-wasn't my fault!"

_Yeah, it was._

"Brother! How could you! It was just a puppy! And you killed it!" Al screamed towering over Edward.

"I don't know, ok! I get these headaches, and I cant think properly, and I hurt stuff, and-"

"Full metal, this is no joke. You are to come and see me tomorrow in my office. Alphonse will be staying with me for a little while, since you are to unstable to be with right now." He said, darkly, before returning to the crying woman. "Madam, please take your dog to the military police station. Don't worry, he wont get away with it. I will be there shortly to help you." The woman didn't say anything, but got up, taking her dog with her, tears streaming down her face until she disappeared from view.

_Im sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you or your dog. I bet she was like family to you, right? All you had left to care about in the world, hmm? I know how it feels. I've been there before. _

"Edward, go home and think about what has happened tonight. Someone will be waiting to see you about your problem tomorrow." And with that, Roy disappeared into the shadows, Telling Al to follow him.

"No, wait, Al, don't leave me!"

"Brother, do you really love me?"

"Yes, Al, I do! You're my brother, how could I not?"

"Then, _brother_, if you really love me, you'll leave me alone for a little while. I need to think." Al shuddered, turning around, and following the disappearing shadow of Roy, head held low.

"But Al! Wait!" Edward called, after him. Al kept walking, not giving the slightest indication that he heard.

"I can change! Its not my fault!"

Al kept walking.

"…But…I thought you'd always be there for me…"

_Al isn't stopping. _

"…So it turns out, dear brother, your not. So, tell me this," He whispered to himself, rain starting to fall from the still black sky. "Who can I have to love now that your gone?"

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"Nice PJ's, sir." The receptionist at the police station teased.

"Ha-ha, very funny." Roy fumed, fingers taping on the desk. "Did a woman and a dog come here?"

"No, not that ive seen."

"But I told her to come here!" Roy said desperately.

"Should I report whatever crime has happened, sir?"

"No, don't worry about it. She will do it in her own time." Roy sighed, looking over at Al, who looked a bit dejected. "Come on, were leaving."

"Ok, sir." Al said, getting up to follow the colonel once more to his house. "Don't you think Brother is going to be ok?"

"Im not sure, Al. Im sorry, I cant help your brother like this." Roy said sadly, a light bulb suddenly clicking on in his head. "Hey, Alphonse, can you tell me what happened on Wednesday, the week when you were on a mission?"

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He returned later to his blood covered bed, hand still aching, bones still showing.

_I know now. No one was meant to love me. _

He placed his head on his pillow, and glanced over to the bed Al was sleeping in. Sighing, he got out of his bed, and clambered into Al's, taking in the metallic scent of his brother.

_I wonder who would miss me if I die. _

He pulled the covers closer to his huddled frame.

_No-one would._

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Wahoo, chapter two is finished! OO OMG, Ed's suicidal! Thank you to every one who reviewed my last chapter, I love Ed angst too! It kind of makes me laugh evilly and cry at the same time…Any how, comments are welcome!


	3. The white room

-1I didn't think I could have anymore reviews, but there you go XD I love you people! Than you for the nice comments : ) Whoa, I update quickly oO That's because I have the story already planned out in my head :p Sorry for all the spelling mistakes! -Cry's-

Enjoy!!

_Italics_- thoughts

"_Italics in peoples speech_"- The person is emphasising there words.

Changing colours

"I have not got a problem." Edward choked out as he trudged through the rain to Mustang's office. "Im fine- a little stressed out, but fine!" laughing nervously, glancing down at his now bandaged hand. It was a little shabby, but it was the best he could do, considering that he was tired, and spent most of the night worrying about Al and picking shards of bone out of his skin. Slowly, literally dragging himself up the steps, he ascended Central's stairs to the reception.

_Im fine, Im fine, Im fine, Im-_

"Um, excuse me, have you got an appointment.." Said a pretty looking woman behind the desk, trailing off as she recognised him. Edward sighed, flashing his state alchemist pocket watch.

"Is Mustang in his office?" He said as politely as he could, trying to avoid the scared sort of look he was giving him.

"Ye-yeah." She stuttered, feeling relief flood over her as she watched the young man stroll down the corridor. "Hey, Riley!" She shouted to a man who was watching the conversation. "Isn't that child the one with…you know…"

"Problems?" The man named Riley finished, looking curious.

"Yeah, that's the guy who went crazy last night. Crazy enough to make Colonel Mustang run around in his pyjama's." She said in a serious tone with a hint of amusement. "Jessie from the police station told me. That guy creeps me out."

"Well, nothing gets past you, does it?" He said dryly, messing up his hair. "You never know; the kid might be a wake up call to the nation: Look what happens when you join the military!"

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Edward was starting to notice the stares people were giving him as he walked through the huge, stone building.

_Why are they looking at me like that? It's unnerving…_

Picking up his pace, he broke out into an all-out sprint until he reached his destination, slamming open the door and rushing into the office with such speed, he was sure he could smell the carpet burning under his boots.

"Ah, Full metal, you're here." Roy said, looking out of the window, then back at his wet subordinate. "You should have bought an umbrella."

"Can the chit-chat, bastard, you know why im here." Edward growled, seating himself on the sofa.

"To sort out your problem, of course."

"What _problem?_ I don't have a _fucking_ problem." Edward managed to say, his teeth cracking under the pressure he was applying to them.

"Well, it seriously looks like you do, Full metal." The colonel pointed out seriously. "Edward, what is going on with you? What's up? Why are you having all these mood swings?"

_Mood swings? You still call these mood swings? I don't anymore._

"I don't know: I sometimes get these head aches and they make me want to _hurt_ people, seriously. And when I cant, I have to take a step down and _hurt_ myself." Edward said quickly. "I mean, have you ever wanted to die so badly it _hurts_? I mean, I look out the window sometimes and think to myself 'maybe if I jumped off that, it wouldn't hurt when I hit the floor' or 'if I stay under that long enough, I might be able to suffocate myself' and I cant control it! Its like if I don't think like that, im going to go crazy!"

'_Going to go'_? _A little late for that._

"Calm yourself, Edward." Roy said softly, hoping the tone he was using would help.

"Stop calling me Edward! You don't know me enough to say that, you bastard! And don't pretend you care, because I know you don't! You don't give a rat's ass about me!"

"Oh no you don't!" Roy hissed upon seeing Ed rise from his seat, a dangerous look in his eyes. Seeing where this was going, Roy literally leapt over his desk, spinning the boy around so the older man was facing Ed's back and pulling Ed's arms behind him.

"Calm down, Ed!" Roy growled, tightening his grip.

"I'll kill you! I'll absolutely _flay_ you!" Edward screeched, teeth snapping at the air, their pointed ends looking extremely threatening to Roy. "Let me go, before I rip you apart with my bare hands, you ass-hole!"

"Are you insane? Major!" Mustang called aloud, summoning a giant shadow seemingly out of nowhere.

"You requested my assistance, sir?" Major Armstrong said stiffly, the sparkles that usually followed him around nowhere in sight.

"Please take him to the security room, I can't handle him anymore!" Roy managed to say, out of breath from struggling with the teen. Carefully, Major Armstrong wrapped his hands around the boy's waist and arms, lifting him carefully into the air.

"Im sorry, Edward Elric, you will be coming with me now."

"Get off me, you freak! As soon as you let me go, I'll hit you so hard, you won't remember what your original form looks like!" Edward hissed, squirming in his arms. "And you!" he yelled to Roy as Armstrong carried him out the room. "As soon as Im free, _Im going to hunt you down._"

That, to Roy, did not sound like an empty threat. Slowly getting his breath back, he walked out the office to find Hawkeye waiting for him, a concerned look on her face.

"How-"

"How did I know he was going to loose it? I guessed, really. But I bought Armstrong here just in case."

"Nice plan, sir." Riza said as freely as she could. "Do you know why he's having these mood-changes yet?"

"Kinda, yeah. Apparently, when he and Alphonse where on their mission to track down that alchemist, something happened to him."

"Weren't they sent to find the Destroying dream Alchemist, Joseph Garser? Isn't he the one who has the ability to warp peoples minds?"

"Yeah. He rapidly shows flashbacks of the bad things that has happened in the victims life by accessing there souls and memories through the gate inside them, _without_ the use of a transmutation circle, paralysing them temporarily before they regain control of them selves and are relieved of shock." He murmured to himself. "Now, suppose he could lure a target in that has had so much bad stuff happen to them, that it would not just paralyse them but make them think that their life's so screwed its not worth living anymore. What do we get then?"

"One teenager who's out of control." Riza sighed, realising what was happening.

"So, as Al said and I saw, there was a time skip on the report. _That's because Edward didn't come home that night. _He was at Joseph Garser's house, because according to Alphonse, the night he did come back, which was Thursday night, he was saying something about how Garser knew something about the philosophers stone, so he had gone on his own to capture him and turn him in."

"And let me guess: that's when all of this started?" Hawkeye blinked, taking everything in.

"Yes. Garser tricked Ed into coming over to his house, using that as an excuse and trying to use his alchemy on Edward. Of course, it succeeded, that's why Garser was kicked out of the military: He was a threat to everyone, because he had no control." Roy snorted at the last sentence.

"So Garser's the one behind this?"

"Yeah, and that's not the half of it." Roy said, rummaging through his draw and taking out Ed's mission report. "You see, in this report, Ed said that the police had taken Garser into custody, ready to be picked up by the military. But when we phoned them, it was discovered that Ed had not captured the man at all, for when they went to Garser's hideout, he was severely maimed and mutilated beyond recognition, a lot of his body parts missing."

"W-when did you find out all this?" Riza choked, barely managing to speak. She didn't know Edward was capable of such things.

"Last night, when I did some investigating. Looks like the youngest state Alchemist in history is not only in trouble for Animal cruelty, assaulting an officer and dis-obeying the military," Roy sighed. "But he's also down for murder."

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_Why am I here?_

Edward sat alone in a massive white room that contained nothing but a giant mirror and a speaker, still raging away to himself, everyone else beyond the walls somewhere. He couldn't really escape, because everything was white, and he couldn't locate the door anymore.

"Let me out!" He roared, trying to clap his hands together but being restricted by the chains around his wrists. "Let me go!"

"No, Edward." A man's voice said over the speakerphone in the corner. "Im not letting you out until you tell me what's wrong."

_He's taunting me. _

"I don't know, you bastard!" He yelled at it, blood staring to flow as his wrists where cut beneath the metal restraints. "Who are you!"

"Im Doctor Steve Turner, Edward. Psychologist for the military. Im here to help you."

_He's talking to me like Im a child. _

"Shut the fuck-up! Your not here to help no-body!"

"Calm down, Edward. Why did you kill Joesph Garser?"

"I didn't kill him!" He screamed, thrashing about again and pulling against the chains.

_He treats me like an animal._

"Sedate him." Turner said, opening the door so a few of his colleges could enter. Turner was a young man, about 24, with short, blondish-brownish hair and half moon glasses. He was in charge of the whole operation, but didn't really want to do more than talk through the speaker.

Upon entering the room, Edward turned his attention to the men and started growling in there direction, making them back off uneasily.

"Its no use, doctor! We cant get near him!" One of them called back, a nervous look on his face. In his hands, there was a box with some sort of mask and tube attached to it, containing the knock-out gas Edward desparetly needed before he tore the room apart.

Turner sighed. "Come back then." He sulked, his men reatreating. "How are we going to get him to calm down if we cant get near him!"

"I can help." Said a familier voice in the back drop.

"Ah, colonel Mustang, pleasure to meet you. Im Edwards Psyco-"

"I know already. I think I might be able to calm him down." He said quickly as he walked through the entrance of the room, Hawkeye hot on his trail. Grabbing the box-mask containing the sedative without asking and entering the white room, the brightness damaged his eyes. He took little comfort in knowing Edward was restrained.

"Bastard! I told you, I'll come and find you, not the othe-"

"Edward, I know your not really mad at me, you just _think _you are. Now, I bet your wandering where Al is?" Roy smiled kindly, sitting down just out of Edwards reach.

"..Al?" Edward said, seeming to shrink on the spot. "Where is he, can I see him?" He looked like an excited little boy once more.

"No, not yet. Hes a bit upset at the moment, so he'll be staying with me for a while."

"But…he's not mad at me, is he?"

"No, but-"

"I knew it! He hates me!" Edward wailed, Banging his head against the nearest wall he could find repeatedly. "I-" _Bang. _"Knew-" _Bang. _"It!" _Bang." _

"Edward stop, right now!" Roy yelled, reaching over to pull him away from the wall. When Edward opened his tear-filled eyes, he couldn't see anything but darkness, and hear anything but a rhythmic heart-beat in his ears. It was then he realised he was being hugged- _for the first time in years._

"Whats wrong with me, colonel?" He whispered, burying his head deeper into Roys chest and making Roy's t-shirt wet with his tears.

"I don't know, Edward, but where gonna fix this, ok? But first, I need you to take this for me." Roy said quietly, reaching over to grab the gas-box that he had forgotten about. Edward didn't complain and put the mask on, but did watch Roys hand intently as he flipped the swich open and released the gas into the mask. Sleepily, Edward slowly leaned into Roy more, smiling as Roy run his hands through his hair.

"Its ok Edward, were ready to fight this."

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Back in the second room, outside of the white room, Turner watched the sleeping boy on the floor intently while feeling a twinge of jelousy towards Mustang, who was better than doing his job than he was.

"Good work, Colonel." he said, eye's narrowing.

"Sometimes, you have to be gentle with children." He sneered, narrowing his eyes too. "That child has a lot of problems at the moment, with out you going all 'Psycho-freak on him'." Turner didn't reply, but sat there with a cold look on his face, staring out of the mirror-window.

"He doesn't remember that he killed the Destroying dream alchemist, and that's a problem, since he was the cause of all this." He said silently, turning his gaze back to the colonel. "Well? What are we going to do?"

"We know that as soon as he gets angry, he gets really angry, and we can calm him down with Alphonse. But that wont work for very long, since he'll find away to figure us out." Mustang stated, wishing more brain power to come to him.

"Plus, when he wakes up, he going to be extra-angry." Turner shivered at the thought. "That sedative can have nasty side effects."

"Such as what?" Hawkeye interviened, feeling the need to speak.

"Well, it depending on how bad the person taking it is. We'll see what happen's when he wakes up." Turner chuckled. "_If _he wakes up_."_

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Al sighed, watching the rain drip down the window. He was beginning to think what Edward had said was true. He couldn't remember anything before that day, and he couldn't feel,

He couldn't smell,

He couldn't taste,

_He didn't breathe. _

So what was to say he whether he was alive or not? He loved his brother a lot, and would give anything in the world to be with him right now, but he was scared that his sibling was going to have another outburst.

What could he do when he was like this?

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After Mustang and Hawkeye had left the second room, Steve Turner was enveloped in white light as his clothes disintegrated and turned into an all black attire, complete with the blackish-green hair he sprouted from his head.

"That was too easy." Envy sniggered, entering the room where the blonde slept peacefully on the floor. Easily breaking the bonds that held him there, Edward was flung onto the Homunculus's back roughly, eyes slowly fluttering open.

"..Mnnnn?" He yawned sleepily.

"Heya, Full metal shorty, surprised to see me?" he sneered, putting his face close to Edwards. "We've got big plans for you, and we don't want anyone messing them up. So," he said, amusement in his tone. "How about after you wake up, properly we go and _hunt Mustang down_, like you said?"

Edward didn't say anything, but for anyone that was close enough to see it, a smile could clearly be seen on his face.

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OMGWTFBBQ it's a CLIFFY!!!! Oo Ed has completely lost it now. One minute he likes Roy, then he doesn't, then he hates Al, then he doesn't, RRWWWAAARRR!!! -heart attack- Anyway, I hope you like this chapter XD Lots of info there…Oh no, Envy's in the story now! -Groans- Did you like my new invention? The box-gas-mask-a-majig! Because needles are old school :) Imagination is all you need for a newbie writer such as mysel! -Ajusts glasses- -Looks at spelling- And spelling lessons wouldnt hurt...

Awwwww, Al is so adorable! Lets hope he is not suicidal too….

Anyway, comments will be fed to my cat in exchange for love! Flames will be used to have a BBQ, Even though its raining in England at the moment XD


	4. Bridge's

Super-quick-awesome-chapter-summoning-alchemy-GO!!!! -Chapter appears- YESH!!! -Dances- Thank you to all you super nice reviewers that commented on my work J Yes, I am evil for the cliff hanger, but there you go! Now, on with the show! -Rhyme-

Changing colors

"Wake up, Full metal shorty, were here!" The voice that seemed to piece his ear-drums said.

_Shit, my head… Who the hell is carrying me? Wait a second…_

"Envy!" Edward growled, still a little sleepy. "Let go of me!"

"No way. You might try and escape." Envy laughed heartily. "Do you know why I have you?"

"No, but I swear, if you don't put me down-"

"Cool it, short-stuff." Envy said, dumping him on the floor. Turning his purple eyes upwards, he marvelled at the sight of an extremely large mansion, the only remotely colored thing in a city that looked like it had been long forgotten about.

Ignoring the jab at his height, Edward slowly got up and took a fighting stance, leaping back a few metres away from Envy. "What am I doing here?" He hissed, keeping his golden gaze on the homunculus.

"Did you ever stop to think, Full metal, that you'll be better off looking for the stone with us?" He sniggered, edging closer to the boy. "If we work together, we could get it a lot more faster than you and Al ever would. We've got power, control of the state, and, if you join, we could have the best alchemist in Amestrian history on our side." Placing his face inches away from Edwards, he added quietly, "We could be like…_brothers_."

_Don't listen to him, he's lying! He wants the stone for himself! Now, back away, your not hearing any of this, your just stressed out at the moment-_

_Yeah, but im also desperate to get Al back to normal. _

"…Im listening." Edward said curiously, oblivious to the voice in his head telling him to run.

"Good, because im only saying this once."

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"Edward's gone?" Roy gasped, having ran down to the security room as soon as he heard the alarm go off, accompanied by some other workers. "How is this possible? The chains- they have just been snapped off! And there's no exit hole, so he must have just walked through the door, but that's impossible because Turner was the only one with the…key…"

"Sir? Are you suggesting that Turner betrayed us?" Hawkeye quizzed.

"Possibly. All signs do point to him, and Edward wouldn't have been able to break these chains by him self."

"And he was asleep, sir." Hawkeye added.

Suddenly, the cries of "sir, sir!" exploded from the corridor behind them, a military Private scampering as fast as he could.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but-"

"Can it wait, Private? This is kind of important!" Roy murmured, turning his back on him.

"No, sir, its important! The body of Steve turner had just been discovered in the military cafeteria freezers!"

"What?" Mustang gasped, mouth hitting the floor. "That's it, if Edwards at the bottom of this, im going to have him seriously dealt with." He hissed, grinding his teeth together. "Hawkeye, gather the group: were going on a search mission."

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"And do you know what the good thing is? They'll never find us down here! Where underneath central!" Envy smirked, patting Edwards shoulder.

"I-I don't know if I should be doing this." He squeaked, withdrawing a bit.

"Non-sense!" Envy said in a light tone. _He__'__s starting to loose his memory. _He thought to himself. _That gas worked perfectly. I wander what will happen when it wears off__…_"Now, I want you to go and kill this man to prove yourself to me. With you and your new 'Im going to kill everything around me' attitude, this should be a breeze!" Envy complimented, making himself sound friendly. "Plus, do you want the man that made you loose your sanity alive?"

_Oh god, my head hurts so much…_

"…He's the one who made me like I am?" Edward gasped.

_It's all his fault…_

"Yeah. He done some stupid alchemy thing on you and turned you insane."

_I cant live while he shares the same air as me._

"I'll do it- I'll kill him." He snarled, a dark look crossing his face.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"GAAAARRRR!" Colonel mustangs scream could be heard for miles each way was he collapsed outside central. "Went spent a whole day looking for him- in the dark and the rain- and we still couldn't find him!" He sighed, shaking his rather wet umbrella.

"Maybe we haven't looked hard enough, boss." The rather grumpy voice of Havoc said through the wind. "We can go look again-"

"No havoc. Go home. You guy's too. Dismissed."

"The weary chorus of 'yes sir!' echoed off the stone building before disappearing like the people that made the sound. That was, of course, except for Lieutenant Hawkeye.

"Sir, come in before you get a cold." She sniffed, beginning to think she had one already.

"Yeah, we can search tomorrow, just don't let Alphonse hear about this-" In his Peripheral vision, he could just make out a pair of golden eyes glaring at him in the middle of the central walkway, seemingly un-blinking and narrowed.

"Edward? Is that you?" Mustang said, clambering back down the step's and walking slowly towards the pair of eyes in the darkness. Suddenly, a blue arch of electricity spouted from the floor, a huge stone spike narrowly missing Roy's head erupting from the ground below him. Taking a step forward, the man could just about make out the small form of Edward Elric, yellow eye's like molten fire.

"Edward? What are you doing?" Another spike shot from the ground, the blue electricity dancing around Roy's feet. Poised and coiled like a snake, Roy clicked his fingers, the sound loud and well known to his. But no fire.

"Shit! Its raining!" He cried, turning and trying to run away. _Well duh, Roy, you've been out of it all day. _He thought dryly to himself. Before he had anytime to think to himself, he found himself on the floor, a considerable amount of weight on his chest, pinning him down. Looking up, he saw Edward sneering at him, alchemising his hands to the ground so he couldn't move.

"Edward, let me up!" Roy snarled, locking his black orbs onto the golden ones above him. "I've been looking for you all day, and this is how you repay me?"

"Shut up, you bastard. I told you that I'll hunt out down as soon as I get free, so here I am." Edward smirked, making it painfully aware that his arm had now become a gigantic sword.

"Edward, stop-"

"You don't Command me!" Edward snarled, starting to force the tip of the knife into Roy's chest. "No-one commands me!"

"Don't you remember who I am?" Roy said in a pleading tone, hoping to trigger a reaction.

"Remember who you are? Of course! You're the bastard that me like this in the first place! You done that stupid alchemy on me and made me angry and hurt-"

"No!" Roy said, wincing under the pain. "Joseph Garser did that, about a week ago when you went on a mission to capture him, but you killed him!" The cold metal was pleased further into him, producing a cry from the injured man.

"Your lying! I've never killed any-" He was cut off by the feeling of something whizzing past his ear, accompanied by a gunshot.

"Edward- back away, now." Hawkeye's firm voice stated, the gun quivering in her hand. Edward looked at her with wide eyes, before getting off the Colonel, removing the blade from his shuddering body. "Un-alchemise him from the floor." She added, keeping her gun on him all the time.

Swallowing the huge, nervous lump in his throat, Edward released the man from his stone bonds, his golden eyes wide with fear. Shivering slightly, Edward ran in the opposite direction from them, disappearing into the night.

"Colonel!" Hawkeye yelled, running over to him and inspecting his wounds. "Im sorry I didn't help sooner! I was scared and-"

"Don't worry." Roy whispered, glad to be able to breathe again. "It didn't go in that deep: not enough to piece anything, at least. Now quick- we have to find him before he does anything stupid."

"B-but he just tried to kill you!"

"Yeah, but not intentionally. And besides; he's like my son. What sort of father would I be if I couldn't protect him?"

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…_En…vy? I was listening to En…vy? That doesn't sound right._

Edward mused, panting from running so far.

_But If I go back to Envy, then he'll kill me…_

_And if I stay here, that woman and her gun will kill me…_

_Where is Al? I need him…_

Edward shuddered, walking along the bridge, rain clinging to his damp hair.

_Maybe, _He thought, _I can end it right here. _Peering over the edge, the water swirled threateningly, its surface about 7 metres away from the bridge. _The water looks pretty deep…_

"Don't you dare think about it, shorty." Envy's voice said, appearing at the other end of the bridge. "You and I, were partners, _brothers_, right? What good would killing your-self do now?"

"If you move any closer; I'll jump." he warned, standing closer on the bridges edge.

"Full metal, no!" Mustang's voice said, arm over his chest as he stood at the opposite end of the bridge. Taking this opportunity, Envy tried to leap forward but Edward swung his head around to face him.

"I said- don't move! Neither of you!"

"Envy?" Colonel mustang croaked. "Envy, your controlling Edward! Ed, for years this guy has hunted you, tried to kill you, make your life worse, and you believe what he say's?

"I d-don't know anymore." Edward sniffed, glancing at Envy. "Is this true? You have tried to kill me in the past? But I thought we were brothers! Partners!"

"Don't listen to them- their military scum trying to trick you into working for them! I saw the battle between you and that man over there- the woman tried to kill you!" Envy whispered, pretending to sound upset.

"Your both making me confused!" Edward screamed, lurking closer to the edge. "I-I don't know anymore.

_M-my head hurts so much now…I cant think straight…I-I feel like im going to faint any second now… Al…_

Looking up sadly at the sky, and ignoring the argument going on behind him, Edward sighed, a single, crystal tear rolling down his face.

"Do you see, Al?" He cried, silencing the others. "Don't you see how you can hurt me so easily?"

_You don't know how much power you have over me._

"Full metal, stay where you are!"

_How much your attitude affects mine._

"Shorty, you move, and you'll be sorry."

_How much I love you._

"Good bye, brother." Edward whispered, taking a step forward off the bridge into thin air.

_And how much you own me._

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-Cry's- Not another cliffy!!! Well, you know how I am- I love a good cliffy XD They annoy me yet make me want to read on…. Anyhow, feel free to review me! Remember, -Spooky voice- The more reviews, the faster I upload!!!!

Ed: Stop bribing people with story chapters and reviews! -Is overcome with fan girls-

Me:D That shut him up!

Ps: ENVY IS EVVVVIIIIILLLL!!!!!


	5. Drowning

-Is over-run with votes- Ok, it was easy to see which one won the vote- Parental!RoyXEd! It was close, since some people wanted a mystery story line… and people just got scared of option 3... So, here's Edo/Angst Parental!Roy for ya'll!  
_Changing colors _  
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"Do you see, Al?" He cried, silencing the others. "Don't you see how you can hurt me so easily?"

_You don't know how much power you have over me._

"Full metal, stay where you are!"

_How much your attitude affects mine._

"Shorty, you move, and you'll be sorry."

_How much I love you._

"Good bye, brother." Edward whispered, taking a step forward off the bridge into thin air.

_And how much you own me._  
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Roy watched in horror as he saw Edward spiral harshly off of the bridge's edge, his heart racing in terror. Creating a huge splashing sound, Ed's golden hair disappeared under the waters surface, alone with the rest of him, in less than a second.

"Stupid runt." Envy snorted, looking bored. "Oh, well, there's other people that can crea-" He stopped talking when he saw Roy dive into the water after the young teen, holding his arm around him all the while.

"You know, your going to die too now!" Envy called after him, not receiving a reply. "That's another one down for us, then."

"Y-you monster!" Riza spat like venom, emptying a cartridge load of bullets into Envy's frail body. Envy, not one to die that easily, got up, strolling over to where she was standing, a grin on his face.

"Your lucky I cant kill you, since there has to be at least one witness to see the fall of Colonel Roy mustang and Edward Elric, the full-metal alchemist!" He growled at her, face's centimetres apart. "Don't step over that line again, bitch, or I might decide to kill you." And with that, he leapt into the shadows, not wanting to be seen. If he told the other's what had happened, his life would be on the line for sure…

It didn't really matter though. Like any of them freaks could kill him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Well, this is it. _

Edward thought, looking up causally at the waters surface above him, even though the water was stinging his eyes. He felt like his lungs were going to explode after a little while, black spots dancing around his vision and head hurting like it always did at time's like this.

_So, this is what it feels like to die? It's…strange._

He watched little bubbles of air float away from his mouth. His auto-mail, now half buried in the river's bed, felt even more heavier than it had recently.

_Shit…It hurts…_

Suddenly, he was jerked upwards by the scruff of his neck by a hand that had grabbed him, making him inhale more water. He still couldn't see clearly, but he could just make out a figure before he blacked out entirely. He grit his teeth together uneasily.

_Is this how life was meant to be?_

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Riza tried to hold in the tears, but she couldn't. They seemed to fall of there own accord when she didn't see Edward or Roy resurface after a log period of time.

"Colonel!" She called into the muddy water below her. "Damn it! Roy Mustang, answer me! (1)!"

There was no reply to her command.

Then suddenly, she could just make out two head's floating above the surface, one encased by Onyx-black hair, accompanied by a second head, topped with golden-like waves.

She watched carefully, not wanting her eyes to fail her, as Roy pushed the boy onto the river bank, climbing onto it himself, seemingly forgeting his injury. Edward wasn't moving.

"Colonel?" she croaked, running over to join them, and stopping about a metre away from her destination. "I-it is you right, not Envy?"

"Lieutenant, don't worry, its me." Roy choked, panting for air. "Help me with Edward!" Sure enough, when they both glanced at him, the first thing they noticed was that his chest was moving to some extent, but it was shallow and un-even.

"What do we do?" Roy coughed, gazing in Hawkeye's direction. The question seemed to knock her out of shock.

"I don't know! Try and wake him up." Her eyes became less glazed over as the reality that she hadn't lost him occurred.

Roy huffed as tried to think of ways he could possibly get the young alchemist to wake up again. Then one way dawned on him.

_Whack._

Edward shot up into sitting position, water gushing up from his mouth as he struggled to breath and stop his heart from leaping out of his chest. He could feet someone hitting him repeatedly on his back, trying to get him to breathe properly, but it obviously wasn't working, since he was still choking. He couldn't see anything through the starburst's that had erupted in his skull, but he could however make out two figures in front of him, there images merged but still there.

"…M-m…o…m?" He chocked out, face on fire from being slapped, even though he didn't pay attention to it. He looked at Riza with pleading eyes.

Glancing over at Roy, she noticed him mouthing to her "Don't touch him, shock" but didn't listen, and instead cuddled the trembling boy that just a second ago had been surrounded by water.

"It's ok, h-hunny, Im here." She whispered, wrapping him in her arms, tears now once again falling down her face. Edward didn't say anything, but continued to shake violently as feeling returned to his body. He turned his wide, watery eyes over to Roy, and instantly narrowed them down to slits.

"D-dad..?" He spoke harshly, regaining his breath while still clinging on to Riza. "Y-you came b-ba…ack?"

Roy felt his heart being torn in two, and suddenly his face was wet too, but not from his tears, but from the rain which had stopped for a little while and then just started again. He didn't say anything, or hug the teen as his companion did, he just looked away and didn't say anything, his rather long hair covering his eyes. Edward shrunk back at his reaction, and leaned his head on Riza's shoulder, his eyes slowly closing as sleep overtook him.

"Why…." He whimpered. "W-why didn't you just l-let me die?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Roy got home that night, carrying a little blonde alchemist in his arms, he was shocked to find a huge, suit of armour sitting on his floor and staring out of his window. And then he remembered.

"Alphonse! Im sorry I took so long, but we had some trouble-"

"It's ok, colonel. I can understand if he doesn't want to see me anymore." Al sniffed, sounding as close to crying as a suit of armour could. Raising his head, he gasped at the sight of Edward dangling limply from the older mans arms.

"Is that brother?" Al sounded shocked, but stood up and ran over to them anyway. "Where was he? And I know it was raining, but why is he that wet?"

"Uh…" _If Al finds out what happens, I'll be dead by tomorrow. Damn it, he asks to many question's! _"He was…waiting out side in the rain for a little while for me. I was just asking him a few questions about your last mission, that's all. He was with me the whole time!" _Roy you dope, you sound so fake!_

"Oh, Ok." _Luckily Al's so gullible. _

Roy carefully set Edward on the couch, peering anxiously at the clock. "12 am? Whoa, we were out forever!" Roy grinned in a fake manor, patting Al on the shoulder. Upon noticing Edward start to stir, Roy told Al to wait upstairs for him in one of his spare guest rooms, as he would be up soon, but he first had to talk to his brother. Al nodded, and left the room.

"Edward? Are you Ok?" Roy murmured gently, stroking Ed's hair. Edward yawned, cracking his golden eye's open, but didn't say anything.

"You know, Edward, I was worried about you today. Why did you do it?" Roy tried putting on a parental tone.

Edward still didn't answer, but did look him in the eyes with an understanding look on his face.

"You know, you might not even be here right now if-"

"-If I didn't have a father like you?" Edward finished, his eye's shining brightly for the first time in days.

"Edward, im-"

"Oh, I see how it is. You dont want me." The disappointment clear on his face as the light in his eyes died down again. "You know, _he _didn'twant me either. That's why he abandoned me." Edward cast his gaze downward to Roy's shoes. "That's why he left us, he probably couldn't bear looking at me again."

Roy controlled the extreme urge to intervene, knowing if he interrupted Ed's words, the boy would grow violent like last time. He could feel the nervous tension radiating off the alchemist as he continued.

"I thought, that maybe, If I died, He'd come back and take care of Al, and I'll stop hurting everyone."

Roy sat there and listened, face darkening, tears springing to his eyes but not falling.

"You should have let me die, Roy." Edward sniffed, trying not to cry as well. "You should have let me end it."

"No, I should have." Roy smiled sadly, taking the still wet boy into his arms. "I love you, Edward. I was never going to let you die or hurt yourself." He heard Edward sigh, feeling tears run down his face and Edward's. Ed breathed in his warm scent, eyes half closed.

_Is this how life was meant to be?_

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OO Awww, Roy/Ed fluff! SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER!!! -Hugs you all- Thank you to my new BETA, Roy-fan-33! Im sure you'll take away all my spelling mistakes! XD Im sorry if I update to quickly!!!

Anyhow, this chappie was hard to write, since im English trying to write American. So 'Colour' is 'color', and 'mum' is 'mom', and I get confused between the two! XD Anyhow, Review, please!!!! No one is allowed to flame, except Roy.

Roy: YEASH!!!


	6. Murder

-1DISCLAIMER!: (Because I don't have one) I don't own FMA, but I do own the random OC's XD (Don't we all!)

Ok, if you noticed in the last chapter, there was a line that had a (1) sign next to it, that's because I stole that line from episode 51 XD Anyhow, lets continue!

_Italics with no other text around them- _Edwards thoughts

_Changing colors_

"Fuhrer, sir, we have discovered the location of the Edward Elric, murderer of the Destroying dream alchemist!" The messenger said sharply, saluting the man of authority behind his desk.

"Well done, private." He grinned, mentally scowling. _Damn it, I though Envy said he was dead! We have already changed our plans, and now he's going to mess it all up!_ "Tell all scouts and search party's," The Fuhrer continued, "That if they find the Full-metal alchemist, they are to shoot to kill."

Al woke up in the morning to find a certain blonde boy snuggled up to his metal frame, sleeping peacefully, little stands of his hair covering his face.

"Brother?" Al whispered, nudging Edward gently in the shoulder. "Your neck s going to hurt sleeping like that." Edward stirred slightly, lifting his eyelids up slowly to avoid the sunlight that had been creeping around the curtains.

"…Mmmm…." Edward yawned sleepily, stretching a little. Turning his hazy gaze upwards he frowned a little before sitting up and yawning again. "…Uh…Look, Al, Im-"

"No brother, don't be sorry, you were not yourself." Al said happily, glad to know his brother didn't hate him. He didn't really know whether Roy had put his older sibling there, or whether he was there of his own accord, but he didn't mind either way.

"Thanks Al. I didn't mean those things I said."

"Good, because I was going to knock some sense into you if you didn't get back to normal!" The younger brother laughed, hugging his sibling.

Edward didn't even mind that Al's metal spikes were slowly piercing his skin- he was just happy to have him there. That, and for what he said, he disserved to be punished in some way.

Ambling down the corridor, the two brothers were shocked to find Roy cooking what seemed to be an everlasting stack of pancakes, softly humming a tune that no-one really knew. Smiling happily when he saw the boys, he gestured at the table silently, relieved to see they weren't arguing.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked, looking at the grandfather clock that stood in the corner. It was 5:00 am: they got up pretty early for teenagers.

"Very well, thank you." Al smiled, taking a seat the dining table. Edward didn't say anything, but did copy his brother and sat down. Roy was kind of expecting this, but didn't say anything, in fear of triggering another rampage from the blonde teen. The man had been feeling anxious lately. It's not everyday you have to be with a _psychotic_ _murderer, _no matter how young they were. _Al doesn't know how unpredictable Edward is at the moment._ Roy sighed mentally, shoving the pancakes onto the table. Edward didn't even make a move to eat them.

"Don't you want any?" Mustang stated, noticing that Edward looked like he was trying to set them on fire with his intense glare. Ed jumped a little at his words, and proceeded to slowly eat a pancake while being stared at by the other two occupants of the room. There was so much tension in the air, by the time it was finally broken, everyone in the room was extremely jumpy and agitated.

"Why are you two staring at me!" Edward hissed, putting down his knife and fork with such force it nearly broke the table.

"Why are you not talking to me?" Roy scoffed back, narrowing his eyes.

"Why are you two fighting again? Don't we all have to be together in this house?" Alphonse sighed, standing up in case his brother decided to kill the older man in front of them.

"Because he's being annoying!" Edward snarled, standing as well. "And-"

"Wait: do you hear that?" Roy whispered harshly, cocking his head to the side and staring towards the ground. The other two listened as well.

"Sirens." The man said bluntly, noticing the wailing sound outside his windows. "The police are here."

"Why?" Alphonse said, moving ever so slightly nearer to his brother.

"Well, let me see: Your brother killed a dog, disobeyed the military, hit me, a superior officer, and he _dismembered_ a former state-alchemist!" Roy hissed, telling them to get on the floor so they couldn't be seen. "Edward! Get down!" he growled as soon as he noticed that the young alchemist was still standing, a dazed look on his face, confused thoughts scrawled inside his mind. It suddenly dawned on Roy that reciting his little list in this situation was not a good idea. He swivelled his eyes up to Edward's frightened ones, seeing the young boy look even more scared as every second ticked pass.

_I really killed that guy?_

That night, the transmutation, the State-exam, Nina-

_The images; there coming too fast-_

The gate, the fifth laboratory, Scar, Lior-

_Cant stop them-_

Joseph Garser, his alchemy, the fight, the blood, the body, darkness-

_It hurts to breathe… I remember him, the way he lured and trapped me… my blade… the way it cut through his flesh that quickly… the way his face looked as I drove my sword through his body… the way his eyes dimmed, I remember… I don't disserve to be alive… _

Roy watched as Edwards face slowly became darker and darker, and he inched away from him and Al, who were still on the floor. The police outside began knocking loudly, shouting "We know your in there! Come out, now!" at them, rapping there guns against the wooden door with force. Edward snapped his head in the direction of the door, eyes narrowing down to golden slits. Slowly and stiffly, he allowed his legs, the real one more than the metal one, to carry him towards the wooden frame where he stopped and looked back at his brother and the man who had saved him last night.

"Edward, come back!" Roy whispered, gesturing with his hand. "Please! You'll get hurt!"

_Yeah, like you care._

"Im sorry, Roy." Edward smiled suddenly as if all his anger had melted away, turning the knob on the door. "I'll sort something out." And before the raven-haired man could do anything else, Edward had opened the door, and disappeared behind it in an instant, accompanied by the brief sound of shouting beyond the walls of the house.

Roy swore violently, leaping to his feet before Alphonse could. Galloping towards the house's exit, he stopped suddenly when the unmistakable sound of gunfire could be heard outside, joined by the brisk cackle of alchemic light dancing outside Roy's window, the cry's of the men outside reaching his ears in violent waves.

And then it stopped, just as soon as it had started.

And as silence drifted in from the window, with the exception of the blaring sirens, Roy felt his breath halt in his throat. There was literally no human sound from outside, when a little while ago there had been uproar from about a dozen military men.

Then slowly, the door creaked open a little bit, and Roy closed his eyes, not wanting to see what had happened.

"Roy?" The soft voice of Edward rang through the emptiness. He could hear Alphonse gasp before he had even opened his eyes. And when he did, he wished he hadn't.

Surely enough, Edward was alive and intact, but his pitch black clothes now had a heavy shade of red hanging onto them. His golden hair was nearly completely crimson, and his face was splattered in tiny droplets of blood that seemed to merge together into one big smudge. His auto-mail had the red liquid dripping through the metal sheets, residing at the end of his blade, which was still in full view.

Roy had no time to think. Shoving the boy aside, he burst through the door to meet his front lawn, which looked like a war has taken place. The various bodies of military police were scattered on the ground, either impaled on a vast array of spikes or sliced apart, limbs missing. The ground below them was now stained an ugly, reddish color, the grass burnt and discoloured.

"Roy? Whats wrong?" Edward said shakily, snapping Roy out of his thoughts. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the boy that now stood beside him. He let his hair fall over his face in rage, feeling his fists quivering.

"What-" He began, pausing to lick his lips. "_What _have you done?" He saw Edward flinch at the tone of his voice and shuffled closer to the older man.

"I thought you wanted them gone-"

"_Not like this._" Roy spat, slowly looking down on the boy. "I hope this lives with you forever, _Edward_. You have just _destroyed _these people's lives, and for what? What reason could you possibly give me that I would believe?"

Edward didn't say anything, but looked to the floor.

"Edward, just get inside- _now_."

Edward shuffled inside in utter shame, the scolding he just received hitting him hard.

_Wow, I really am a failure._

Finding Al standing near the doorway, the alchemist walked slowly up to him, expecting to be shouted at as well. Instead, he looked up to find that Alphonse was almost scared.

"I saw what you did, Brother. I looked out the window by accident…" He whispered quietly, stepping away to Edward. "I…I don't even know you anymore." He desperately sounded like he wanted to cry, but of course, he couldn't.

"But they were going to kill us!" Edward yelped, feeling extremely panicky beyond anything.

This time, it was Alphonse's turn to be silent.

Then suddenly, a sharp sound was heard, followed by the flickering of flames outside the window, which died down after a while of glittering in the morning sun. Storming past the two boys, Roy stalked upstairs, bring down a suitcase a moment later.

"I have burned my lawn down to try and hide the evidence, but I know the military wont stop at this. Im surprised there wasn't even any witnesses." He scowled, tapping his luggage. "Now, thanks to _him_, we now have to hide. Pack your things: were leaving shortly."

Alphonse immediately went upstairs, but Edward stayed where he was.

"I just told you-"

"Didn't I do us a favour?" Edward growled, grinding his teeth together. "It was either us or them!"

"You know what, Edward? I don't even care what you have to say at the moment. Im actually sick at the sight of you right now. I suggest you do as your told." Roy said harshly, turning his back on the boy. He could already hear the boy's silent tears quietly rolling down his face behind him. "And to think: I almost considered you my son."

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Whoa, Ed and Roy are evil…. I don't really know how Noone could not witness that XD Anyhow, can only post a chapter on weekends now due to a shortage of computers! T-T -Crys- Anyhow, review!


	7. To Suffer

-1Ok, I tried to make this chapter long, even though its short, so sorry guys! Also, sorry I Didn't upload in a while, I have GCSE work:D 

_WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!! _

_THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS WINRY-ABUSE! DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ! _

_Enjoy. :D –Over exaggerating-_

_Changing colors_

_He had that strange dream again…_

_He was at the Gate; the tentacles were reaching out to him…_

_And then, out of nowhere, a wolf appeared…_

_It was pure black, with no eyes and six legs…_

_With huge antlers…_

_And it sneered at him and howled a deathly sound…_

"_Kill, kill, kill…" It said, watching sightlessly as Edward was engulfed by darkness…_

_It didn't do anything…_

_Blood pouring out of its mouth…_

_Crimson staining its paws…_

_Scarlet leaking through its fur…_

_And it smiled._

* * *

"Roy, where are we going?" Al asked out of pure curiosity. The three had managed to catch a train (after involuntarily clearing Edward up), gaining a few suspicious looks from the few people that did wander around at that time in the morning.

"We're going to Rizembool, where we are going to drop you off." An agitated voice answered back.

"Wait, what? Why can't I come with you?"

"Because," Roy said, rather annoyed with all the questions. "It would be easier to sneak around, since you stand out in a crowd."

"Oh."

Silence had become so common in the private train compartment that they were in, it wasn't even awkward anymore. Since Roy absolutely refused to talk to the young blonde boy, and Al didn't really want to hate him but did, Edward felt extremely isolated from them both. Roy's words had left a big impact on him.

_Me and Al-_

He looked over at his brother, who was sitting next to him, staring out the window.

_We could have had a real father._

He still couldn't believe himself. He _killed_ all of those men without really thinking about how Roy or Al would feel about it… come to think about it… anyone who had seen what he had done would have been disgusted. But then again, he wasn't in the wrong, since them guy's were going to kill _him_. Roy's neighbours are going to be very surprised when they see his garden…

Sighing, he stared at the Colonel with big, pleading eyes, asking to be forgiven. Roy didn't even glance in his direction.

* * *

"Winry!"

"Yeah?"

"Get down here, now! You'll work yourself to death!"

"Mmmmm….."

Winry had been working extremely hard, making Ed's new arm. She bragged to her customers all the time: and half the time the people she was working on didn't have a clue what she was talking about. But she continued on, anyway, as she loved to talk about her work. _And_ a certain blonde chibi that she happened to like.

She had been practically overjoyed when the Flame alchemist had rung her up, _extremely_ early in the morning, to tell her that Edward Elric and his brother were coming home for a little while. This time, she was certain she was going to surprise him with the new arm, even if it killed her. So, she picked up her tools and continued: despite having Pinako yell at her to relax.

* * *

It was raining.

_Damn, Im useless in the rain…_

Roy was pissed. He'd been stuck on that stupid train for about three days now, just him, a suit of Armour, and what he could only describe as a _monster_ that liked to stare a lot. How long did it take to get to this stupid town anyway? It was practically in the middle of nowhere! Forcing out an angry sigh, he slowly stood up.

"Im going out to stretch my legs." He murmured, retreating out of the cabin and slamming the door behind him, producing a loud enough noise to make both of the Elric brothers jump.

"Hey Al!" Edward smiled after recovering from shock, nudging his brother. There was no response.

"Let's go spy on Mustang!" He said excitedly, pulling Al's arm forcefully. There was still no sound.

"…Al? You'll talk to me, eventually, wont you?" Edward whispered, dropping his brother's metal limb. A hollow ringing sound filled the air.

"… Yeah, Brother, I will. But not right now." The last bit of Al's sentence was said with a hint of annoyance. Edward recoiled, shuffled back to his seat and rested his head against the window sill, under the sympathetic yet cold gaze of Alphonse.

It would be quite a while before things got back to normal.

_

* * *

_

It was still raining, and the trio were relived yet slightly anxious to see the Rockbell's front door. Slowly and carefully, Roy trudged up the steps and knocked softly on the door before leaping back to join the brothers behind him. A loud "Coming!" sound came from inside, as the door swung open to reveal none other than Winry herself, a smile spread across her face. It soon disappeared when she saw the faces the others were wearing (except of course, Al).

"What's wrong?" She said, as her guest's walked inside. Ed, not wanting to talk, ran upstairs to the spare room he usually stayed in and locked the door behind him.

"What's up with him?" she said softly to the others. Al hung his head low, while Roy turned away.

"Well, if no-ones going to talk, I'll go ask him." Winry said with a hint of bitterness in her tone, pausing to hug Al briefly. "Its great to see you again." And with that, she ran upstairs to knock on the door of a certain blonde, all the while calling to Pinako to help Roy and Al get settled. After a brief second, the door opened, and she stepped in.

"Edward?" She said into the darkness, picking out the silhouette of the young alchemist sitting down on the edge of his bed. There was a tired sigh, before he replied:

"Shut the door."

He said it in such a tone it sent shivers up her spine. He sounded like some sort of psychopath…

"Ed? What's wrong? You didn't even say hello to me."

"…" He decided not to reply to that one.

"…Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Did something happen between you and Al?"

He felt like she had just thrust a knife through his heart. It pained him so much to admit that he was no longer as close to Al as he had been in the past, yet he somehow felt a little happy that he was more free than he had been in years.

"Yeah, something happened." _I killed a lot of people for no reason, that's what happened._

"Well, I think you should go talk to Al about it to make things better."

"No, I don't want to see him at the moment, since he doesn't want to see me." _Why doesn't she just go away instead of just prying into my life?_

"Well, I think you should-"

And then he felt it: A strange presence that seemed to fill him and take control of his body. The time with Roy, the dog, the military men… It had been there, too. Looking ahead, he could see Winry's lips moving, as if she was speaking to him, but he couldn't hear anything. The anger was slowly boiling inside him, making him narrow his eyes. What right did _she_ have to lecture him? His problems were his own, and no-one else's.

He couldn't control it: it was like fire coursing through his veins, engulfing him in rage until his mind was completely focused on hurting the closest person near him. He could see her say something along the lines of: "Whats wrong?", but he didn't reply to her.

_I have to shut her up._

Slowly, he let his real hand curl up into ball as he lifted it above his head. He saw Winry scream as he brought it down upon her.

"Sorry…" He whispered, so quietly only he could hear it.

_So, this is what I have become._

* * *

"Why thank you, Mrs Pinako." Roy smiled, sitting down on the sofa. Al followed, nodding his head gracefully. Engaging in idle talk, the conversation slowly turned to Edward.

"Well, he's not himself at the moment." Roy said sadly, closing his eyes for a second. All of this talk was giving him a headache.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Al said, standing up. He could have sworn he heard screaming…

"Alphonse, stop being so paranoid." Pinako said, calming his down. From above, they heard a faint thump of something hitting the floor. "It's probably just Edward walking around. You know how heavy auto-mail can be and how squeaky it is when it isn't cleaned."

Al just nodded silently. It was all in his head.

* * *

Winry watched in horror and surprise as she saw Edwards fist come towards her, a scream escaping her. In an eruption of pain, she felt her neck crack back on impact, blood trickling down her face. She was grateful he didn't use his metal arm.

"E-Edward?" She whimpered, turning tear filled eyes on him. He looked mad. Mustering up her anger, she whipped him around the face with her wrench that she had pulled out of her pocket, doing it so fast that he didn't even have time to block her. The impact of metal against bone split the skin on one side of his face, leaving a devastating gorge on his face. He growled in dis-belief, before turning on her.

"You _bitch!_" he roared, throwing her to the floor. She gasped, curling up into a ball, whimpering "I didn't mean too!" over and over again as he placed a metal foot upon her chest, adding pressure until he screamed.

"You know what? I could kill you like _that_." He snarled, demonstrating by clicking his fingers. "Shows how much they care about you. They didn't even come upstairs to check on you when they heard you _scream_." Winry did nothing but shrink back more, screaming again. He quickly shut her up by kicking her swiftly in the head, more blood staining the floor. And all of a sudden, Roy was outside the door with Al, calling to see if they were all right. Edward grinned. Bending down, and lifting Winry up by her hair, he whispered:

"You're going to tell them we're Ok in here, right? Were just _talking_."

Winry nodded slowly, fearful for her life. Steadily, she called out to them:

"Yeah, were f-fine."

On the other side of the door, Roy and Al were not convinced.

"Al, can you open the door with Alchemy? He's locked it." Mustang said, rattling the handle. Al sighed, shaking his head.

"No. The doors been locked with _his_ alchemy. I cant open it with my alchemy. Its kind of like a key, in a sense that only he can open it."

"I cant burn it down, the house is made of wood for gods sake!" Roy panicked, hearing shuffling inside the room. God knows _what_ he was doing in there. Then, a light bulb turned on in Roy's mind.

"Hey Al, that big body can finally be put to use."

* * *

In the room, Winry was back under Ed's foot; being crushed under the heavy lump of metal he called a leg.

"Ed-Edward, why?" She whispered, clenching her teeth in pain as her spine was compressed.

"Why? Why! That's what _I'd_ like to know." Lightning forked outside the window. He smiled evilly at her, watching her eyes follow his.

"E-E-Ed-Edward!" She cried, feeling her ribs start to break. He laughed again, applying more pressure. And suddenly, there was an ear-piercing _crack_, and against Winry's pale skin, a large, crimson shard of bone protruded from the right side of her chest, blood specking the floor.

And at the exact same time, a metal arm ploughed through the wall, and Al ripped through the door like cardboard.

Almost immediately, Roy burst through the newly made hole and grabbed hold of Edward from the back, not even glancing at the floor where Winry lay. Quickly, he threw him out of the room, where Al captured him, ignored his growling and told him to shut up. It didn't work.

Roy, meanwhile, had picked up Winry's limp body, rocking her like a baby. She was still breathing, but barely. The wound looked pretty bad, but not fatal if treated quickly. He only wondered how much tine was left…He scowled, clambering quickly out of the hole, running past a raging Edward and going downstairs. He didn't want to deal with this right now. Plus, he had to look after this girl.

* * *

Edward slowly calmed down, staring up at Al after a while of silence between them. He could literally feel the anger radiating off of his brother.

"Al, let go of me." He said, no emotion in his voice. Al gasped in disgust and literally threw him to the floor, to upset to say anything. He had seen his child-hood friend broken by his own _brother_. Quickly, he followed Roy downstairs, disappearing. Leaving, namely, Edward alone.

Slowly, his swiped his tongue around his lips, tasting the bitter taste of blood. He smiled, a dark look crossing his face as he waltzed up to his window, feeling the electricity in the air as rain slowly pitter-pattered against the fogged up glass. The adrenaline in his blood kept him focused as he listened intently to the cries of distress he could hear below him. Shuddering slightly, he slid down onto the floor, putting his head in his hands.

And he cried.

* * *

Oh, no, Winry. Noooooo. –(Not a Winry fan)- I dunno… she'd be an alright character if she didn't cry so much :D I do feel sorry for her in the movie, though… Anyway, review! I didn't upload in a while, because I had work at school to do (That's right: im still in school. Im pretty young:D) Oh, and im deciding whether to make Ed suicidal or just plain evil… (too late for that XD)

Thank you all!

WhiteWolfKitsune! Xxx

PS: I don't know what the dream at the beginning is about… Care to guess what it means? Go ahead! All ideas taken… -Evil look-


	8. Through the Rift's

Woo! Thank you to all my reviewers out there! I love you all! Yeah, Ed is pretty crazy now… Roy is sooooo stupid for leaving him alone! Bad Roy! XD

Anyhow, let's continue! Oh, and thank you, Ayumi Elric, for your idea on the dream sequence! She wrote:

"A wolf is like being alone, they don't NEED others to survive though it survives on the need for others. The wolf being black is like being engulfed by darkness. Having no eyes is like being to what's happening. 6 legs…uh…I dunno, but 6 is a bad number! Antlers… don't know either… but the bleeding was like it was hurting inside for what it was doing. And the smile… that it didn't care, or so it thought."

I found that brilliant! I just thought the dream just sounded cool, but now it has reason XD Thank you!

Warning: A little bit of Al/win fluff! Yay! (Oh, and Ed angst too… :D)

DOUBLE WARNING: If you haven't seen past episode 51, DON'T READ! SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEEEEEEEN WARNED!!!!! XD

_Changing colors_

_No-one_ was allowed to see how Winry was, except Pinako. She was the only one that knew how to use the surgical tools, anyway.

Al waited out-side, praying with all his heart that she would get better. It wasn't that bad, was it? She couldn't die… he wouldn't let her. He never did tell her, all that time ago, how he felt about the relationship they had. He'd always sit back, when they were children, and watch his brother and Winry play together in secret, jealous of the bond they had. He couldn't help it! All he wanted was someone to love him! He knew Edward and his mother loved him (and his father), but this was totally different. He wanted to settle down somewhere with a wife, have children, and get a job.

But _who_ in there right mind would fall in love with a suit of armour?

Sighing, he turned his metallic helmet to the door to stare at it again, and then decided otherwise and turned his head to the ceiling, where he could faintly hear the sound Roy shouting at his mentally challenged brother. He still had reason to believe that somewhere, inside the broken mind of his sibling,

_The brother he knew was still alive._

* * *

Edward was still sitting by himself in the room, pondering. The adrenalin of the whole thing still lingered in his system, yet he felt no need to be energetic. 

_...Winry…_

The name felt bitter on his tongue as he stared at the blood on the floor… it was so familiar, but from where?

_Garser's…body…torn…Gate…_

He could almost hear himself saying it in a breathless tone that made him shake and shudder. The next thing he knew, he was no longer conscious, but laying on the cold, hard, floor.

_

* * *

_

_After being found, and waking up in an angry mood..._

"Don't bite!" Roy stated angrily. He grit his teeth together warily, beyond the point of being pissed off. This was just another "incident" to add to his list. He could have sworn the young alchemist was doing this to spite him.

"I said don't bite!" He snarled, pulling his fingers away before Edward could bite them. He hissed in annoyance before narrowing his golden eyes, trying to lunge forward again. It was lucky for Roy that the boy's hands were tied to the bedpost and he was sat on the ground at the time. "Listen to me."

There was no reply from Edward, but he did snap at the air again, growling.

Roy snorted, glaring back. He was going to find out what was wrong, even if it took him a long time.

"So Edward. What do you think gives you the right to hurt people, huh?" He started. Edward blinked back, looking confused, which made Roy confused. How could his mood change that fast?

"I _don't_ hurt people."

Roy could have slapped him there and then, but decided against it.

"Yeah, Edward, you do. Just this minute ago, you hurt someone. Don't you remember?"

Edward just shook his head, extremely slowly. His memory was hazed badly. _So,_ Roy thought, sitting down as well. _Every time he does something bad, he doesn't remember it… But he remembered the lawn incident!_

"Don't you remember? On the lawn when you-"

"Shut-up!" Edward screamed, tears springing to his eyes again. "I was made, like this! I am doing nothing wrong!"

"Made? The Destroying Dream alchemist didn't "make" you like this! He merely altered your mind!"

"Who? What? I don't understand…" Edward sniffed, looking extremely vulnerable. He tried to escape again, succeeding in falling over so he was lying flat on his stomach, still bound. It hadn't been easy to tie him up, but it'd been ok since the boy was half asleep when he'd done it. Roy helped him up shyly.

_So, he has short term memory loss, but can remember certain events._ Mustang mused. _He doesn't remember killing Garser though…_ _strange. Maybe I can shock him into telling me what happened…_

"Do you remember what happened to your mother?" He said quickly, without remorse.

That caused Edward to take a sharp intake of breath. Suddenly, he _hurt_. Really bad. Something ached in his chest that made him want to scream out loud, but the presence of the man in front of him stopped him from making any noise at all.

_I am n-not weak! _

"Well? Do you?"

"-Yeah… She held m-my hand w-when she went a-all cold…"

_I am…. Edward Elric?_

"Say it." Roy said bluntly, biting his lip. Dragging up the boy's past was getting to him too. "Say it, now."

"She…went…"

""Say it!"

"She died! Are you happy, now?"

_She held my hand when she fell asleep… and even though I called her name she didn't wake up._

"No. Do you realise the importance of death? Who it affects? You could have killed Winry today. What do you think of that?"

"I think… she should hurt me back." He said quietly, gazing down at the floor. Then suddenly, his breathing grew ragged, and his eye's grew wide, pupils contracting.

_The white room, the bridge, the lawn, the dog, the office, Garser…_

"H-h-he _hit_ m-me…" He murmured, choking on his words. "I remember… h-he hated the military… he told me _n-not_ to trust them… he said they'd _kill_ me in the end…" He was shaking so hard now, he couldn't see straight. He had suddenly remembered everything.

"He said _you_ had killed mom… he had my f-files. He knew _everything_."

"Edward?" Roy was starting to worry. He had a glazed look on him, like he wasn't seeing anything around him, and his chest was rising and falling rapidly. He wouldn't respond when Roy shook the boy's shoulders, either.

"He showed me…He showed me what to do…" he closed his eyes and sucked in air quickly.

"Edward? What are you talking about?"

"I hear him… I have to go to central… and destroy _everyone_ there…"

All of a sudden, the bonds that tied Ed to the bedpost slipped off his hands, and he stood up, almost dreamily, walking past Roy and opening the door, before sprinting forward. Roy stood up, lightning fast, and ran after him, but by the time he caught up with the alchemist, he was already outside.

"Edward, wait!" Roy puffed, rain clinging to his hair. "What? Destroy central? None of it makes sense! Tell me what happened back then!" Yelling over the wind and rain, he saw the boy slowly come to a stop.

"You want to know _why?_" He smiled, baring his teeth. Even though he had a confident look on his face, Roy could still see that he was still shivering, and he noticed when he was walking he was limping as well. "Because he told me too."

_Send central into darkness…_

And then he turned around, and continued walking. At the same time, the door opened, and Al gingerly peered out.

"What's happening?"

"Your brother's mumbling something about destroying central." Roy stated, keeping his eye's on the alchemist. "Edward! Come back inside. Its raining, and you'll get a cold!"

_And give the people to the Gate…_

Edward just continued smiling, and walked away. His steps were slow, and he didn't look like he knew where he was going, but he continued on anyway. He had to get to central…

Suddenly, blue electricity arched from the floor beneath him, pulling his feet underground so he couldn't move. Twisting his lithe form round, he could see Al, a piece of cloth in hand. A circle was drawn on it.

_He's not stupid. He knew it was raining, so he couldn't draw on the ground with his chalk._ Edward sniggered to himself, releasing his feet. In an instant, Al and Roy were sent flying through the door of the house when a wave of earth rolled from underneath them, nearly hitting the house when it died down.

"Fool's…"

He whispered, shuddering slightly again. Ignoring it, he quickly made his way to the path before they could follow.

He was going to send the whole of central underground once more…

Just like his father.

* * *

"I want ALL railway operations and stations to close immediately!" Roy screamed down the phone. "If you manage to find the full-metal alchemist: capture him, but DO N OT harm him!" There was a faint "yes sir!" on the other end of the phone, before it went dead. 

Roy was usually extremely witty, fast thinking and intelligent. But this time he couldn't work out _what_ in the _world_ was happening! There was no way he could catch Ed by running after him (that boy was fast!) and there was nothing in his power he could do while it was raining. Otherwise, he could have trapped him in a ring of fire…

Nah, that was cruel.

"He can't get the train now." Roy huffed, patting Roy on the shoulder. "I don't think he'll be able to get there now."

"Don't be fooled." Al stated, sitting down. "What's happening with him now?"

"Well, apparently, something _else_ happened with Garser that night. Ed believes that he has to destroy central because Garser told him too, but other than that he's doing it for no reason!" Roy said, scratching his head in fury. "He can't really do that, can he?"

"Huh? Do what?" Al asked wearily.

"Destroy central."

"…Perhaps. I don't think he has the _will_ power to do that, though."

"…oh." The silence that came afterwards was painful. The two boys, lost in thought, wondered silently to themselves where there lives were heading. They couldn't do much, since it was raining (and Roy _hated_ rain) and dark, except sit a prey. And then, in the midst of their thoughts, they heard the door to the surgery room creak open.

"You can see her now…" Pinako stated, moving out the way before Al trampled her.

"Winry! Winry! Are you ok?" Al screamed, grasping her hand. She had bandages round the top half of her body, and a morphine line hooked onto her arm. After a while, she lifted her head weakly, squinting at him.

"Where is he?" She whispered quietly.

"He's gone, Winry." Al sniffed back, sounding read to cry.

"Oh." Coughing slightly, she managed to smile through the pain. "I love him. Did you know that?"

Al could feel the jealousy still stab at him to this day.

"Yeah, I did." He murmured.

"Don't forget: I love you too." And weakly, she kissed her finger and touched his metal cheek before crying. He sat there in silence, casting his gaze downwards.

"Thank you, Winry. That means a lot."

_

* * *

_

Roy sat alone, mind whirring. He felt so damn _useless!_

"You know," Pinako said, sitting beside him. "If you want to help him, you should at least go after him." She was angry that the boy hurt her grandchild, but she knew it really wasn't his fault deep down.

"He's probably miles away by now." Roy sighed, twiddling his thumbs in anger.

"I don't think so, judging by the way he was moving around outside, he looked like he was going to collapse."

"I sa- wait. You saw that? How?" He asked, lifting his head.

"I see everything. After all: Its my house." She laughed, patting his knee. "She'll be fine, if your worrying. I don't know about the boy though. God knows what he will do out there by himself."

There was an awkward silence again.

And then Roy quickly got up, and headed to the door.

"Take care of Al, will you?"

"Don't worry; he'll be fine."

Roy nodded idly, running out into the rain after his companion.

"Strange one, that lad." Pinako said to no-one in particular. "I wonder how he's going to sort this out…"

* * *

Hah, everyone forgot Winry! –Sneer- This chapter was fun to write! Oh, and I got my School report back! On English, one of the lines said: 

"Danielle is a pleasant student, but needs to learn to talk less."

I don't talk THAT much… -shifty eyes- Anyhow, please review!

Ps: If your wondering why the layout feels a bit weird in this chapter, it's because I've been playing too much phoenix Wright. (Plus im writing this at 10:00 at night. That's late for me!) Edgeworth is hot! XD


	9. The capture part 1

-1I have justfinished reading Harry potter and the deathly hallows, and I must say, that was the BEST ENDING EVER!!! -Took me one and a half days- –Cheers- I was there at midnight to buy it! (A little sad, I know, but hey XD) Anyway, im not going to ruin it for all the people that haven't finished it yet or haven't read it, but that was the best book in the HP series yet!

Reading it gave me inspiration to write this chapter! Lets get on with the show!

---------WARNING!!!! SPOILERS FOR ALL EPISODES!!!--------

_Changing colors_

_Flashback._

"So, you call me here today to talk. You realise I've been sent to get you, Garser?" a young voice echoed in the darkness. Un-naturally yellow eyes peered out of the gloom to stare at the middle-aged man before him.

"Of course, Full-metal alchemist! I must say, it's a pleasure-"

"Cut to the chase, old-man." The blonde one sighed, looking bored and examining his finger nails. "Have you got information for me, or what?"

"Yes, of course!" Garser squeaked, jumping in his seat. "I'm sure I have it somewhere-"

Ed snorted, casting his gaze around him. There were runes of all kinds scribbled into the walls in ink, making it look like some sort of child's drawing board. The room itself was poorly lit by some sort of candle, which quivered every now and then, sending flickering shadows everywhere.

"Ah, here they are!" Garser beamed, holding them out. Ed made to grab them, but the older man sharply pulled them away. Ed gave him a confused look. "Ah, you can have them, but on one condition."

Edward groaned: Garser had been known for his sickening sense of humour. No doubt he wanted Ed to do something stupid for him-

"All you need to do is _close your eyes." _Garser whispered, his own eyes glinting.

"And you're sure this information is reliable? And is this necessary?" Edward sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Of course, Master Elric!"

"Fine, I'll close my eyes." What was this non-sense? All he wanted from this idiotic man was answer, before he left him to rot in prison!

Slowly, he let his eye-lids slip shut, and as soon as he did pain erupted in his skull. He tried to open his eyes again, but found that he couldn't. _Help…_ he whispered in pain, images flashing before his eyes.

_There was his mom, playing with him and Alphonse in the grass with their father, chasing a ball that rolled around at there feet. Edward asked his dad why he wasn't joining in, but the man simply said he was too old for that, causing the three to jump on his and tickle him till he was dying with laughter. Older Edward starting running towards them, but as he went to hug his mother the image changed, growing darker as mist filled the scene and alchemic light sparked around him. Casting his gaze downward, he nearly retched. It was him, lying on the floor, his arm missing. He could see every line of fear etched into his blood splattered face as he stared at the monstrosity that he had created at the cost of Alphonse's body…_

_He saw Nina, her chimera form asking why he didn't come back like he promised to play with her…_

_He saw Barry, his knife hovering above his head as he was about to bring it down…_

_He saw Envy and the homunculus's, gathered around the red water chambers as lust dug her claws deeper into Al's blood seal…_

_He saw Roze clinging to her baby, Teacher being beaten up by Greed, Al saying that he wasn't human, himself being controlled by the red water, getting tortured by Envy and batting scar, he saw Lior being enveloped in scarlet as thousands died, and he saw the gate, opening to greet him…_

Gasping, he opened his eyes, his body quivering so violently that he couldn't see straight. Jerking his head quickly towards the man in front of his, he hissed, glaring at Garser's outstretched hands as the alchemic light died upon them. Edward quickly took the papers (which had fallen to the floor), checking them over. _They were blank._ There wasn't a speck of ink to be seen on their cream surfaces._ Slowly, _Edward crumpled them in his metal fist, his amber eyes rolling upwards at the sound of Garser laughing. The sound was horrible, ear-shattering even, and it forced him to grimace.

"What is your name, Boy?" Garser sniggered, edging closer to Edwards face. The young alchemist didn't reply, but stood up, letting his bangs cover his eye's. He was obviously shorter than his companion, but Garser still felt intimidated and a little bit scared.

"Name..." Garser tried again, hoping he had brainwashed him. Edward just shook his hair out of his face. Upon not getting a reaction, Garser smacked Eds head to the side viciously, watching it crack backwards before Ed turned to look at the man who had _dared_ to touch him. The look he was wearing was absolutely _monstrous._ His eye's where glinting, and a twisted smiled sat on his lips, making him look like a mental patient. Garser knew at once he had over did it.

"You dragged me away from my fucking _brother_ to show me _blank_ pieces of _paper_?" He said in a deathly quiet voice. "And then you _hit_ me?" He placed his face in front of Garser's, searching his eyes for answer's.

"The reason you are here, _boy_, is to do my bidding for me." Garser snarled right back, feeling his heart start to beat faster. "You remember Hohenheim? Your _father_? Well you're going to follow in his foot-steps." He stopped, feeling the hot breath of Edward on his neck as he whimpered slightly. "Your going to destroy Central, and get revenge on the military for kicking me out-"

Garser never got to finish, because to tip of Edwards sword had plunged into his throat. Blood spurted forth, covering Ed in crimson, but he didn't care, as he repeatedly stuck his sword into the mans frail body. Garser was dead in seconds, but he continued, hacking off his limbs and other parts of his body before stopping, his breathing heavy and ragged. His eye's immediately went soft at the sight before him.

"What, what have I done…" He whispered, stumbling blindly into a mirror behind him. Turning, he looked closely at his appearance; his blood stained hair, his scarlet-covered auto-mail, and the crazy look in his eyes.

And then, the candle went out.

Panicking, he ran blindly into the objects in the room, colliding with chairs and wardrobes in a pitiful attempt to get the blood off of him, until he was cut up and bruised. He was completely blind and helpless.

Then, by accident, he found the door, and burst into the street, where the coldness of the night filled him. Running down the street towards the hotel he knew Al was staying at. Stopping briefly to catch his breath, he leant against a wall, puffing and panting.

And then, before he knew it, the house collapsed.

Debris flying all around him, he choked on the dust-filled air, and continued running blindly, ignoring the screams coming from the house. He didn't have a clue why that happened: he didn't do anything! He just touched it!

Still running in the pitch dark, with tears in his eyes, he repeatedly ran into buildings that fell as he touched them, sending the people inside to an early grave.

"Help!" He called out, but everyone was too busy saving the people in the buildings to care about them. "I n-need help!" _No-one _cared about him. He watched, almost in slow motion, as fire engines whizzed past him and people flocked towards the rubble. Shuddering, he ran, past the hotel, past the out-skirts of the town and towards the river, where he sat there, crying. It was funny how he was now sitting in Al's spot, but he didn't care.

Slowly, he curled into a ball and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come and get him. All of those people who died in their house's were never going to know who killed them…

No-one noticed what he had done, no-one had found Garser's body, and no-one suspected him of anything. It was the perfect crime.

Yet It was going to eat him up inside.

_

* * *

_

Edward nearly tripped on a rock in the road as his feet sloshed through the mud, his mind burning.

_The military has caused me so much pain…_

He thought, smiling slightly through the rain.

_I wonder how im going to do this…_

"Hey, Edward! Wait!" Said a voice behind him, making him jump. He didn't bother turning around, as it could only be one person. Why was this man so intent on helping him? Didn't he know it was hopeless?

Roy came to a grinding halt beside the young alchemist, panting slightly. He stood in front of him, and held his shoulders so he couldn't move forward anymore.

"Don't do it, Edward!"

"I will do as I please." Came the quiet reply.

Edward made a weak attempt to push Roy off of him, but Roy refused to move until he got a say in all of this.

"Stop it! Your hurting people! Don't you care how they feel about this?"

"So? Like I care about who's _feelings_ get _hurt?_"

"What about… my feelings?"

There was such a desperate edge in Roy's tone of voice that Edward couldn't help but glance up at him in surprise.

"Why would you do this? Is that mans word or alchemy so _strong_, it over-powers you all the time, huh? Edward, you're stronger than this! No-one could touch you before, and now, because a single man tells you, you feel the need to _destroy _people's lives? Isn't it equivalent exchange!?What will you obtain, by doing this? Tell me now, Edward! Tell me!" Roy said desperately, searching Ed's face for understanding. Edward smiled up at him, his eyes glazed with tears.

"Happiness."

It was all he could utter before shaking off Roy's hands and walking around him, slumping over so he looked like he was sick. Roy wanted to follow him, but he was having trouble getting his legs to move properly.

"Edward, please! I-if they find you, they'll kill you!" He screamed above the wind, causing the young man to stop in his tracks.

"If they find me, they'll kill me. He said that the military would get me in the end…"

"What about Al? Have you asked him how he feels about this?"

"He has _no_ say in this."

"What? He's your brother, for god's sake!"

"_He has no say in this." _Edward repeated, malice creeping into his words.

"But… I thought-"

"You thought _what?_ That me and Al are joined at the hip or something? That one cannot live without the other? That we're _telepathically_ connected to each other, so that we know what the other is thinking? No, Mustang, it's not like that. Al cant help me with this. Al isn't even here at the moment; he's inside the gate, waiting for me to get him! The suit of armour is nothing but a replacement!"

"Really!" Roy yelled, storming up to him. "Is that what you think? That he isn't here?""

"Al," He breathed, placing his face in front of Roy's. "Is waiting."

Above them, the wind howled viciously, lightning forking across the black sky. Rain plummeted from the cloud's, becoming the only thing to be heard as the two alchemist's stood nose to nose, angry for there own reasons. And then, a voice seemingly spoke out of nothingness, echoing around the air and cutting the tension between the Flame and Full-metal alchemist.

"So, brother. That's what you really think of me now."

The man and the boy whirled around sharply, to see the suit of armour standing there, looking not angry, but indifferent.

"Al-"

"Wait a second; I thought this wasn't Al?" Roy stated, tearing his gaze from the metal boy. "I thought-"

He suddenly had to stop when he felt a metal fist hit his face, sending him staggering backwards, blood oozing from his split cheek. Glancing around him, he could see the rich, blue color of alchemy sparking around him as a blade about one metre long sprouted from the tip of Ed's arm.

"Time to finish this. Im not listening to any more of your crap!" Edward hissed, about to charge at Mustang.

"Brother, touch him, and I'll be forced to hurt you." Al said quietly, transmutation cloth tied around one arm, his body in a fighting stance.

"Take another step, _brother_, and I'll kill _him_." Edward retorted back, eyes on fire as he raised his auto-mail.

"Al, don't touch him, or I'll burn you. It's not his fault!" Roy pleaded, poising his fingers in a clicking pose. Almost simultaneously, all three looked up at the sky where rain still fell. "Darn it, im useless…" He muttered, letting his arm fall to his side. "I wasn't going to burn you anyway… but I wanted to be a part of the moment…"

Leaving Roy to mutter to himself, the two brothers faced each other off, both ready to spring into action as soon as the other one moved.

"You've changed, Edward." Al said darkly, shaking his helmet.

"Yeah, I've become less foolish."

"How so?" Al's question seemed genuine.

"I've learn how to not repeat mistakes, and how to gain power."

"What?"

"Watch, Al, watch me." Edward swayed on the spot, seemingly concentrating on a spot on the floor, his eyes closed. All of a sudden, a wave of heat radiated of him, creating steam in the air before blue sparks appeared (that were slowly becoming black), dancing around him, forming into rippling waves that seemed harmless to Al and Roy.

"Now, Al, feast your eyes on this!" He laughed, out-stretching his hands towards his brother. Suddenly, Al was no longer in Rizembool, but in front of the Gate. All of Ed's waves had reformed themselves into the form of what looked like, what could only be described as, a _wolf_ of some sort.

It had great, ugly antlers peeking out of its head, and it's face contained no eyes, its great, ugly nose sniffing the air. Instead of four legs, it had _six_, with five, ugly toes that each contained hooked claws pointing out of its small feet. There was blood every-where on its twisted body, as its tail thrashed around carelessly, tongue lolling around. It was the size of a large car, but longer, and _a lot_ scarier.

Al could have screamed, but decided against it.

"Brother, w-what is that _thing?_" He shivered, trying to avoid looking at it as it stood before him, his voice quivering.

"It's the Gate keeper, Al- Garser's finest creation. It looks after the things that get stuck in the Gate and have no-where to go." Ed laughed, all sadness gone, even though Al couldn't see him. "Look at it, Al, look into its eye's and see yourself: who you truly are!"

"It has no ey-" Al screeched in terror as all of a sudden, millions of eyes appeared over the wolfs body, ranging in size's. It slowly walked up to him, a hideous noise escaping its throat.

And Al couldn't help but look.

At once, he saw, in the wolf, himself, as a human, looking scared and alone. His hair was long, and his grey eyes soulless, but it was defiantly _him._

And, then, in an instant, it was gone, and he was back in Rizembool.

"I… understand." Al whispered, looking up shakily. "Garser used that _thing_ to trap people's minds at the gate, but because you had already seen what was inside it-"

"It didn't work. Yes." Edward finished, inspecting his auto-mail. "I didn't become prey to the Keeper, like many other's had. Garser made it so that when it did trap people's minds, temporarily, he had control over the victims body for a while, and they would do his bidding. And when the keeper returned their minds, they wouldn't remember anything at all."

"But doesn't that mean them people should be able to perform alchemy without a circle?" Al stuttered, finding all this hard to believe.

"That's the beauty of it! Because the persons mind it not really linked to there body, they cant _see_ the gates information. So, every-time a mind is captured, the keeper sees the information. And every-time that happens, it gets stronger, and the longer Garser's alchemy can work." Ed smiled. "The keeper tells me what I must do."

"Wait, your listening to an _illusion_ Garser created?"

"Maybe. Or maybe," He sneered, "I like to kill for the fun of it."

"…I-it didn't give all o-of your mind back, did it… part of y-you is m-missing…"

"…"

Yet again, silence fell upon them, as the rain grew stronger, and so did the tension.

"Sorry to interrupt what your doing, but… " Roy stumbled, feeling as if he was forgotten. "We have company." Slowly, he pointed north, not far away from them, where a small group waited, there blue uniforms standing out against the dark backdrop. They could faintly the calls of "Edward elric: you will surrender!" and "We have you out numbered!"

"What are we going to do?" Roy panicked, glaring at the two. Al looked completely out of it and Edward was grinning like a maniac. He had obviously had missed something while he was watching the military men…

"Wait: Hawkeye?" He whispered, squinting is eyes. Yes, it was definitely his unit, guns loaded, looking stern.

"Hey! It's me!" He called, beckoning them closer. They walked forward, but didn't lower their guns or take their eyes of Edward.

"Chief! Your alive!" Havoc smiled, looking weird without the usual cigarette on him.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Roy questioned.

"Well, you haven't been to wok in a while…" Falman stated.

"We thought he had got you." Breda sneered, looking at Edward, his face twisting into a smile. He looked willing to draw blood.

"Its fine, were just-"

"We have to capture him, sir. Its for his own good." Hawkeye whispered, knowing full-well what the boy was capable of.

"No! You cant take him! He'll hurt more people!" Roy said, trying to get her to lower her gun.

"Hey, Al," Edward said suddenly, keeping his amber glare on the troop. "Do you want to see these people die?"

Al gave him the angriest look a suit of armour could give.

"You do not kill for fun, Brother! Or at all! You have no right, especially when you know them!"

"Then, bring it!"

"If that's the only way to stop you."

Al galloped hastily towards Ed, confusion forgotten. He was angry: and needed to vent it.

Ed stormed towards Al, not ready to loose this fight. He still had a job to do.

Roy dashed towards both of them, fearing his life a little. But he still had to stop these two before one of them got seriously hurt…

And the military charged at all three of them, thinking they could capture the Fullmetal alchemist. They weren't going to back down.

Blood was spilled that night; and none of it was from Edward.

* * *

OO CLIFFY!!! Wow, one of the military gang is going to die… hmmm…which one? XD 

And let me explain for confused people. (My sister got confused… but then again, shes young XD)

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Garser's alchemy revolves around showing people the bad things that had happened in there life by sending them to the Gate and opening their mind. The "Gate keeper", AKA the wolf-like thing, then keeps there mind's for a little while there body remains behind for Garser to control it. After a while, the Gate keeper sends the mind back to its owner (because mind and body are like magnets: they attract each other and cant stay apart for long) and the person regains consciousness, but doesn't recall what happened.

Now, in Eds case, what has happened is that he's had a lot of bad things happen to him, and the Gate keeper was not able to hold onto his mind, and so it returned to Ed almost instantly. But, a little bit of Ed's sanity still remains with the Keeper, so he's loopy. A part of him is missing, as Al said. Now, because Garser's alchemy is broken, and Garser is dead, Ed cant retrieve his mind, and so, he remains crazy. The only way to get his sanity back is to destroy the Gate keeper, thus freeing his mind, which means trapping someone at the gate, meaning the death of probably a main character…

Al's body is trapped at the gate, and the Keeper knows that, and that's why it showed Al.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Still confused? Hey, its not my fault, it came to me in a dream…. XD Might delete this chapter… I dunno.. do you think its powerful enough? People are going to die in the next chapter….

Anyhow, review, or the ate keeper will steal your mind at night!!!!

PS; DON'T YOU LOVE HOW BAD-ASS AL IS???!!! ROCK ON, AL!!!

Reviews will be used to feed the Gate Keeper! He's eating me right now!

Gate keeper: Mmmmmm… Fangirl.


	10. The capture part 2

Hey, guys!

A lot of you were wondering (or worrying) about my "Death of a main character" quote, but don't worry. They might not have to die… -evil smirk-

Anyhow, thank you reviewers!!! To answer some of them:

Ling Yao- Thank you, my pretty, for reading it!!! **–**Hugs-

Jenelric- Everyone needs a break from psychopathic killing every now and then! XD

Kyorma- I would never kill of Riza! She's one of my favourite characters!!!! She may get hurt though… -Plotting-

Meganekko- -Takes cookies and pie- Mmmmm, pie! XD Thank you! Don't worry; I cant kill Roy! He's another one of my favourite characters!!! Heh, I seem to like all the characters… except Winry. Her voice drives me crazy :3 –Gets beaten up by Winry supporters-

Thank you all! Now, lets go! –Likes to rhyme-

_Changing colors_

"Al, Ed, stop now!" Roy roared, jumping in front of them. Al immediately came to a grinding halt, skidding slightly as he narrowly avoided the black-eyed man before him.

Edward, however, continued to run forward, leaping over Roy's head and landing behind him, avoiding the bullets that were shot at him with ease. He smiled, revealing his sharp teeth, before kicking Al squarely in the chest so he flew backward a few metres. Before he had time to recover, Ed had hit him yet again, making him crash into the floor before he had time to react.

"You _always_ used to beat me at sparring, _Brother_." Edward purred, sitting atop Alphonses body, while tracing circles with his metal finger so sparks flew away from it. "What happened?"

Al jolted upwards, so Edward fell off, but quickly resumed his posture.

Roy, on the other hand, being absolutely _useless_ in this weather, was trying to calm his officers down.

"Don't fire! That's an order!" He snarled, jumping in front of them. They all looked at each other, but didn't lower them.

"Sir- I mean Roy-" Hawkeye began, swallowing hard. Roy stared at her with big eyes at the sound of his name. "You have been reported as dead. You are no longer a military man. And the Fuhrer has said, that in the unlikely event you _were_ alive, you are to be suspended from the military on accusation of murder."

Roy felt his breath catch in his throat. He didn't murder anyone!

"Lieutenant, I didn't kill anybody-"

"A few days ago, a squadron was sent to your house. They didn't come back, and there was extensive fire damage to your front yard, as well as tell-tale signs, suggesting they were burnt to death." Hawkeye hacked out, the words making her feel like a traitor.

"We _have_ to capture the Full metal alchemist, or _our_ jobs will be one the line!" Fuery whispered, handgun shivering in his hands. He had obviously not used one before.

"But he's in our team!" Roy argued. "We cant abandon him…." Trailing off, he looked down at the floor, waiting for the others to speak

"Well… he _is_ kind of like our little brother…" Havoc started, glancing at the others.

"He played chess with me when no-one would…" Breda grumbled.

"I found his theory's intriguing to listen too…." Falman murmured.

"He played with me and black Hayate when he had spare time…" Fuery stuttered.

Everyone at that point looked at Riza, expecting her to say something. She looked around slowly at all of them, sighing slightly.

"He… called me Mom…" She whispered, gaining surprise looks from her comrades.

In silence, each one of them stared thoughtfully at the brothers as they battled it out ruthlessly, Edward having speed o his hands and looking very much offensive while Al was on defence, blocking all of Edward's attacks. Edward however, did look like he was slowing down as he got more and more worn out.

"Come on, guys." Roy pleaded, looking at them with a sympathetic glint in his eyes. "Help him."

Riza sighed again and lowered her gun, remembering what it was like the last time she had saw him at the bridge. It wasn't Ed's fault really, but she could never forget someone that tried to kill Roy mustang, especially right in front of her eyes.

Soon after, they all began to lower there guns, looking speechless. They couldn't believe themselves- even though he wasn't there commanding officer anymore, they were still willing to listen and obey them.

_Thank god._ Roy sighed mentally, congratulating himself on a job well done. _Still have to stop the fight-_

Suddenly, his train of thoughts were cut of as the two brothers exploded apart as blue light flared above the ground, rows of fists erupting out of nowhere.

"You will stop this- now!" Said a stern, female voice, blue lights crackling again. And there, wearing her white, buttoned up trench coat, stood Izumi Curtis, a fierce scowl on her face.

"What? How?" Edward snarled quietly, the wind clearly knocked out of him.

"Do you think I would not be informed of your behaviour, Edward? Nothing escapes me." She spat back, walking over to him. The military gang looked startled, but said nothing.

"That means," Roy whispered to them, "That Pinako, Winry's grandmother, rung her after what happened at her house with Winry."

The gang didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but nodded their heads in understanding. They watched intently as Izumi picked Edward up by his collar and placed her face near his. He didn't do anything to resist.

"The innocence…" She said quietly, transfixed by his golden gaze. In them, there was nothing but hate and despair. "The innocence has gone from your eyes!" she suddenly snapped at him, but he didn't even flinch.

Instead, he grinned.

"My innocence was gone years ago-" He didn't have time to finish before he was flung threw the air, hitting the earth with a heavy thud.

Roy's gang, including him, nearly ran over to Ed but decided to stop. They didn't want to get in trouble with the frightening woman also.

Edward shivered, standing up once more.

"You don't scare me, anymore." He hissed getting ready to clap his hands together.

"You foolish boy." She smiled back, poising her hands as well. "You'll wish you'd never said that." And then suddenly, a rush of spikes came spouting beneath Edwards feet, making him jump back in surprise. But by the time his feet had touched the floor his arm was already a blade, sharp and dangerous.

He charged back at her, his golden eyes shining through the darkness as he raised his arm to strike her. She easily dodged and rolled underneath him while he was in the air. Kicking out, she managed to hit him in the gut, leaving him yet again sprawled in the mud.

Breathlessly, he coughed and gagged on the air, his chest heaving. He looked at Al, who was now watching on the sidelines, eyes wide. He didn't want to fight anymore.

_That's my little brother._ He smiled mentally, trying to get air into his lungs. _Look how big he is…_

He barely had time to avoid the second attack from his teacher as he stumbled to his feet, still gasping. Blood slowly leaked from every inch of his body, making him ache. She hadn't been able to get a clean hit on him yet, but she had managed to scrape him a few times. He was sick of this.

Sick of hurting.

Sick of pain.

Sick of fighting and never getting anywhere.

And so, he decided to play dirty.

Jumping around Izumi, he ducked under her kick, scooping the mud off the floor before throwing it in her face as fast as he could. She cried out, blindly stumbling backwards as she attempted to wipe it from her face. He had slyly jumped behind her as this was happening, causing her to fall over in a pitiful display of treachery.

"You bastard!" She roared, quickly getting to her feet and launching alchemy at him again as he bounded away. Her vision was bad- It was dark, and the mud that she couldn't get out stung her eyes, blurring everything together. She decided to continue fighting anyway.

That was mistake number one.

Creating spikes from the earth, she launched them at her student with relentless force, watching as his body weaved out the way in slow motion. And, by unfortunate luck, instead of breaking down like she intended for them to do, they surged forward, towards the military group. Every single one of them dodged out of the way, there military training making there reflexes sharp, but Fuery, the youngest of the group, just about avoided getting hit by the deadly spikes. Though, by bad luck, he had managed to knock his glasses off by mistake.

"Guys!" He wailed, stumbling around blindly. "My glasses!"

The group, who scattered around now, glanced at him before searching for Fuery's lost item. He was almost _blind_ with out them. He couldn't even pick out his friends anymore: they just looked like blue blurs, only to be seen when the electric lights of alchemy sparked through the air. He continued to wander about, bending over to feel the ground.

Mistake number two.

A little way behind him, Edward had just cart wheeled away from his teachers attack once more, scrambling to land safely. He was tired, from fighting Al and barely getting any sleep. Also, on top of that, he was fighting Izumi: he had to keep on his toes if he wanted to stay alive as long as he could.

Standing in a stance, she could see his chest fluttering wildly as he tried hard not to show weakness.

"Edward, you've lost. Give it up!" She panted herself, also tired. No matter how strong she looked, she was still ill. "I can help you-"

"No-one… can help me!" He felt ready to collapse on the spot there. He was wet, cold, tired, _and_ hurt. This was the last thing he needed.

Getting ready to launch another attack, Edward clapped his hands, only to be knocked over by Fuery, who couldn't see him.

And then, landing on his front, he rolled to left to get ready to get up, letting his right arm flop beside him.

That's when he heard the scream.

It was loud, and right in his ear. He didn't even want to look to his left, for he already knew what had happened. Halting his breath, he slowly turned his wide eyes over to his side and gasped.

There, on the floor, lay Fuery, Ed's blade half imbedded in his back. He could clearly see the blood dribbling along its silver edge before dripping on to the wet colored earth, seeping into the mud.

_Oh god oh god oh god-_

Fuery screamed out in pain again, Roy and his gang running over to him. They stopped about a metre away, there eyes either narrowed with anger or wide with shock.

_I didn't want this!_

"E-Edward!" Falman stammered, rushing over to his injured friends side, where blood was gushing out.

By then, Edward had started to panic, trying to get his arm out of the poor boy.

"Ed! No! Don't!" Roy said, panicking himself. Havoc quickly climbed on top of Edward, holding down his arms and sitting on his legs, staring deep into the other boy's eyes with his blue ones.

"Don't. Move." He whispered harshly. Edward immediately obeyed.

"Fuery! Can you hear me?" Roy said softly, kneeling by his head. Fuery nodded shakily, tears leaking from his eye's. Inspecting the wound, Roy noted it wasn't really that deep; but the sheer length of it meant it was bleeding: a lot.

"Ok, Edward, I want you to lift your arm _extremely_ slowly." Roy ordered, shaking the hair out of his eyes. Edward did as he was asked, closing his eye's in the process. He didn't want to watch.

In the process of moving it, Fuery screamed again, making Ed jerk in fear, and making him press his blade into the man further.

"Fuery! Don't scream!" Roy pleaded, rustling his hair. "Ed, try again." Yet again, he raised his arm. This time, he managed to slot it out, scrambling away as soon as he was free and Havoc had got off of him, tears gathering in his eyes.

Fuery withered on the floor, crying out for help as his friends done everything they could to stop the bleeding, tearing up there uniforms and using them as bandages until it finally stopped after a while.

"Carry him to the Rockbell's: they'll know what to do." Roy sighed, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. It didnt look fatal, at least. Nodding, Breda and Havoc grabbed Fuery between them, Falman and Riza following. And slowly, they lifted him up (making Fuery wince in pain) and marched through the mud towards the house that they could see faintly in the background.

"You know," Roy whispered to Riza as she went past him. "It wasn't his fault."

She looked up at him with sorrow in her auburn eyes and stopped, letting her crew walk on.

"Roy-"

"Riza, im going to be doing something dangerous pretty soon, and I might not come back." Roy whispered, making her eyes widen.

"But Colonel-!" She was cut off as he fimly pressed his lips to hers, passionately kissing her before breaking free. She gasped, but didnt look frightened or shocked at all. She looked _pleased. _

"I love you, Riza. Remember- im not a millitary dog anymore."

She lowered her head, tears filming her eyes. If he had told her that, that must mean he expects to die...

"I'll be waiting for you to return, Roy." She sniffed, standing on her tip-toes to quickly kiss him back before running off to the rest of her group.

Izumi watched the whole scene from a distance, not really caring. They were in the military. They didn't disserve sympathy, or love. Instead, she fixed her icy glare on her pupil, who was standing shakily away from Roy, and looking towards Al, who seemed to be in shock.

He was about to make a dash for it, darting round the older man, but before he got anywhere, Izumi stepped in front of him, her arms open. He just looked at her with glazed, amber eyes.

Then, suddenly, he leaned into her, allowing the woman to hug him while he broke down in her arms.

"Edward; It wasn't your fault." She whispered, all anger disappearing from her. She silently noticed how his mood had changed. "It was an accident."

Edward didn't answer, but leaned into her more. He couldn't forget the way Riza and her group had looked at him when he had done it. Like they blamed him, or it was done entirely on purpose. He didn't even know Fuery was near him! Last time he had look, the man was far from his position…

"Roy." Izumi hissed, snapping the man out of his daze. It was a wonder she even called him by his first name, instead of using her colourful language on him.

"Can I look after him for a while?" She asked quickly, looking down at the boy.

Al and Ed gasped together. She had _asked_, when she usually would have just taken!

Roy wasn't sure about that. He wanted to help him, and after all they had been through, he felt he had to protect him now… but this was his teacher, and she had known him far longer. He was no longer a Colonel, but a normal man now. Ed no longer had to see him if he didn't want to…

"Of cou- yes." He sighed, messing up his hair. At the answer, Ed pulled away from Izumi and hugged Roy as well, burying his head into the mans chest. He could smell the familiar smell of ash on him.

"Don't worry, Ed. We'll get through this." He whispered into the boy's ear. "Be good for your teacher."

"Don't worry; I will." Edward sniffed, a dark look suddenly appearing in his tear-filled eyes, though not showing on his face. Roy noticed it, but kept the information to himself. He backed away so Edward could walk over to Al, his head hung low. Al didn't ay anything.

"Sorry." Edward breathed so only Al could hear, before running back to Izumi, where they walked off together, the rain and darkness swallowing him whole. Roy silently padded over to Al, joining him in watching them leave.

_I hope Fuery's gonig to be ok. _He mused. _He didnt even find his glasses. _

_

* * *

_

Awww, poor Fuery! Hope he gets better!

OMG, Izumi's here now! Wow, there is going to be some Ed torture soon! She has harsh methods with dealing with him… Wow, im evil XD

I GUARANTY ONE OF THE MAIN CHARS IS GOING TO DIE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS. DONT ASK ME HOW LONG, I DONT KNOW YET. XD

It's nearly always raining in my fic, since I like Roy to be useless :D Hey, Havoc climbing on top of Edward is a nice mental image… -Drools- Don't worry, there wont be any yaoi XD

Reviews, please! HELP ME ACHIEVE 100 REVIEWS!!!!!! I'll give you all a cake!

WARNING!!!!

-Gets out poking pole- Will force reviews out of people by poking!


	11. The plot

Hey, Im back!

Thank you to:

I'll wait for him, SwiftFeather, Kyorma, Rachel kudo, jenelric, VadMustang, Bar-Ohki, AkitaFallow, Xiia, and EdwardElricsFan4Ever

-for helping me reach 100 reviews!!! I love you guys!! I also love anyone else who has commented on my work before!!! Thank you!! – Use's a lot of '!!!' marks-

To Answer some of the reviews made:

EdwardElricsFan4Ever: Im scared of Izumi too… -Shivers- but she's an awesome character! XD

AkitaFallow: OO I couldn't kill Fuery! He's just so damn cute! I can hurt him, though… :D

VadMustang: … You scare me…OO I can't kill Roy! He's hot! And so Jean! –Puppy dog eyes- Don't hurt me!!!! Put the doll down!!! Nooooo!!! ( Hour: 11:30 am, cause of death: killed by fan girl)

jenelric: Ed's always cute, my friend! Though sometimes he can look evil… But still cute:3

Kyorma: -Gives you an umbrella- Gah! So many Winry fans! XD Quick! We can hide behind Al:D

Thanks again!

-I deleted the timeline- XD

_Changing colors_

Al and Roy stood in silence for god knows how long. It was still raining, the drop's of water rattling off of Alphonse's armour and clinging to Roy's body like a moth to a flame.

"I cant believe im not in the military anymore…" Mustang sulked, ruffling his hair. "Im out of a job! Where am I going to go now!" he groaned, talking to himself.

"What are _we_ going to do now?" Al corrected him, ignoring the man's moaning.

Roy jumped, not realising Alphonse was still there. Roughly, he jerked his thumb over to the Rockbell's house, which was just a silhouette in the back drop. At the moment, he could see the light from the windows flickering around, casting shadows onto its walls.

"We cant go back there." He sniffed, images of Winry and Fuery flashing in his mind. "I promised to help Ed, no matter what I do!" Determination shone through his coal- colored eyes, as he stood up straighter than he had ever done in his life.

"Al; I've got a plan." He smiled, turning to look up at his young friend.

"And what would that be?" Al said excitedly, moving in closer. The way that Roy had said that reminded him of his brother.

"Well, were going to-"

* * *

Edward leaned into his train seat, his eyes slowly drooping shut, and his breathing beginning to slow down, getting deep and even. 

He was_ tired._

He didn't know when the last time he'd really slept was, and it was taking a toll on him. He found it hard to focus on one thing for too long, and after that fight with Izumi, he hurt. A lot.

"Edward…" Izumi sighed, propping him up once again as his head fell on her shoulder. She had to admit, it _was_ adorable. She had only seen him this worn out and tired in his training days with her; and that was years ago.

Snorting lightly at the fact that he had managed to get his own way, even when he was half asleep, she allowed him to use her shoulder as a pillow, his golden locks spilling over his face, hiding his eyes.

She smiled.

He wasn't as old as he made out to be.

He had always looked so innocent, the way his golden eyes melted at any act of kindness shown towards him or Al, the way he worked for the people, to try and make there lives better. The way he went out on himself to save anyone he could, or the way he stupidly showed pity to his enemies when they were on deaths bed.

Fool.

She didn't know how he had survived this long in the world by himself.

* * *

"Yeow!" 

"Hold still!" Pinako ordered as she wrapped clean bandages around his frame. She didn't partically want all these military folk in her house, but it couldn't be helped. She didn't want to cause people pain either. The young man wasn't injured _that_ bad, but it still hadn't stopped him from crying in agony.

From the sidelines, Hawkeye and Havoc smiled briefly, happy to know he was going to be alright. Beside them, Winry sat propped up on the sofa, giggling slightly.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Jean smirked, gazing down at her. She was still had bandages wrapped round her chest. He could remember Mustang saying something about her and Fullmetal…

"Oh, I find it funny that a man of his age can still cry like a baby." She grinned, her blue eyes shining. "And when Ed was young and was getting his auto-mail fitted, he didn't cry at all…" Her smile suddenly disappeared, being replaced with a sad one, making her head hang low.

"What happened? You know, between you and the chief?" Bending down so he could here her clearly, he smiled at her cutely. "Don't worry; I won't tell them."

Winry blushed, forcing herself to lift her head up.

"We had a fight." She whispered, his words echoing inside her head.

"_You know what? I could kill you like that."_ _She remembered seeing him click his fingers to demonstrate. "Shows how much they care about you. They didn't even come upstairs when they heard you scream."_

"What over?"

"Nothing really. He's just… edgy these days. I don't know what's wrong with him…" Tears started to leak from her eyes again, silently trailing down her face.

_Jeez._ Havoc thought, glancing at Fuery as he fell off the table, making everyone, except Havoc and Winry, laugh at him. _I never have any luck with girls… they always end up leaving me... idiot!_

"Sorry, Mr. Havoc, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about crying. Were all worried about Ed. Im sure he'll be ok!" He beamed, turning his gaze to the window, where rain splattered onto the glass.

_Though I hope the Chief will be…_

_

* * *

_

_Ring ring._

_Ring ring._

"_Hello?"_

"Maes! Its me, Roy."

"_Ah! Roy! Just in time! I have just got some new pictures of Elysia developed! She's so cute! Today, she drew me the cutest picture of a puppy, with big, round eyes, playing with a ball! Of course, I had it framed and I put it on my bed table-"_

"Hughes, shut up! I rang to talk about official business-"

"_Your not even in the military anymore, Roy!"_

"Fine! It's not official! Anyway, I rang to ask if you still had that spy kit we used to wear-"

"_Roy, we used to use that kit to spy on girls! Im a married man, with a stunning wife beautiful daughter! I couldn't!"_

"No! I don't want to spy on _girls_, I want to spy on _Ed._"

"_Ahhh…. I heard. They kept saying he had killed you, but I knew better. Ed wouldn't do that! So, you want me to help?"_

"…Your _not_ fazed that were going to be stalking a mad-man?"

"_He's a child, Roy."_

"But you don't know what he's done!"

"_Rumours spread fast in central. Everyone's saying he's a mass murderer. The police and military are after him! It is also said that he killed you when you killed that group of soldiers that went to capture him at your house-"_

"I haven't killed anyone, Maes! You believe me, don't you?"

"_Of course! Now, enough of this meaningless chat! Where can I meet you to go on this "little" mission of ours?"_

"Well, Ed went with his teacher, who lives in Dublith. Al gave me directions to her home."

"_Well, I'll meet you in Dublith at the train station. I happen to know a lot about that place!"_

"Sure, Hughes. By the way, im being _sarcastic_. Now remember, bring our gear. Don't let anyone see were you are going either- we don't want any followers."

"_Aye-Aye, you're the captain! See you there, as soon as possible!"_

"You better, or I will personally kick your ass next time I see you. Bye."

"_And while your at it, find yourself a good wife-"_

Roy growled, slamming down the pay-phone. Hmmm… spying on Edward was going to be hard…

_

* * *

_

Alphonse shivered mentally, wandering around various alleys. He _really_, _really_ didn't to be here. He was supposed to be in Rizembool- that was the reason they went there in the first place! To drop him off! And now, he had been sent to the Slums, to find someone?

Scowling mentally, he picked up the pace after gaining stare's from people. He didn't know why there were so many women standing around idly, all dressed up like that, in the rain.

Maybe there dates had left them there.

That was a_ lot_ of date-less women.

Turning a corner, he stopped, recognising the place before him. Roy had said to him-

"_Al, I want you to find someone, anyone, that we could use as a sacrifice."_

"_What?!" Al remembered, gasping as much as a suit of armour could. "Why me?" _

"_Well, we're going to need a sacrifice if we want to get to the Gate…"_

Roy had obviously never seen the Gate before, and he hadn't seen the Gate keeper, so Al had told him what he saw when Ed had used his alchemy on him.

He was going to go to the Gate and make that _thing_ give Ed's mind back.

But first, he needed to get someone….

_Flashback…_

"_Al; I've got a plan." He smiled, turning to look up at his young friend._

"_And what would that be?" Al said excitedly, moving in closer. The way that Roy had said that reminded him of his brother._

"_Well, were going to lead Ed into a giant transmutation circle and use a sacrifice to open the Gate. Then, we will fight that thing you said about and get Eds mind back."_

"_But the Gate would want something in return! Remember? It took brother's arm and leg!"_

"_That's what the sacrifice is for..."Roy murmured, watching Al's reaction. He looked as shocked as he could look._

"_Al, I want you to find someone, anyone, that we could use as a sacrifice."_

"_What?!" Al jumped, gasping as much as a suit of armour could. "Why me?"_

"_Well, we're going to need a sacrifice if we want to get to the Gate…"_

"_So- Ed's mind for a human?" Alphonse whispered, shuddering. _

"_Yeah…" Roy breathed, looking miserable. He didn't want it to come to this, but considering all the lives lost…_

"_So, how are you gonna get the sacrifice and Ed in the same place?"_

"_Well, im going to spy on your brother."_

"_He's not gonna like that." _

"_He wont know! Anyhow, im going to watch him for a few days and plan when is the right moment to lure him away… how I'll do that, I don't know…so for now, go find someone. Make up a reason for them to follow you, and meet me at Central Armoury in a week."_

"_A week? Why so long? And why the Armoury?"_

"_Because YOUR going to need to draw the transmutation circle! I can only make fire! And the Armoury because it's dark, big, and were surrounded by weapons in case he try's to attack!"_

_Al sighed, agreeing. It was to happen at midnight at Central Armoury. And that was only IF he could get the sacrifice in mind to come…_

"Hey! You! No entering with that costume on!" The bouncer snarled at him as he tried to enter the club.

"Well, could you see if the man im looking for is in there please?" Al asked, timidly. "He's about this high, black hair, black top and pants, glasses." He knew, without a doubt, that the person he was looking for would be in that club. It was the _sleaziest_, _nastiest_, _dirtiest_ club in the whole of Amestris. How could he not be?

Plus, he heard the man talk about this place before…

"Hey… how old are you?"

"14."

"Wow… your frickin tall. Wait here." And with that, the guard disappeared, leaving Al outside by himself. Seconds later, he heard a voice, accompanied by a feminine giggle as the man he wanted to see stepped through the door, looking rather drunk.

"Hey! Kid! Your back!" He said, grinning as he tapped Al's Armour. "Never thought you'd come back to me!"

"Yeah, good to see you too..." Al winced, feeling rather small despite his height. "I need to ask you something. Will you help me with a problem I have?" Rather choose someone who cant die and _came_ from the gate rather then let and innocent person die in vain… maybe he wouldn't die at the gate… he was the ultimate shield…

Greed smiled thoughtfully, his eyes glinting behind his glasses.

"Go on…"

"Well, I'll give you the secret to my body, if you accompany me on a little trip…"

The sound of laughter echoed through the dark.

"Im listening."

* * *

Envy watched silently from the shadows, smirking as the Tincan and the "Ultimate shield" bargained. 

"Well," He thought, a huge smile filling up his face. "This is interesting…"

He saw the two wonder off down the street together, and found himself following them from behind.

It was payback time.

That stupid runt _wasn't dead._

All that punishment for nothing.

* * *

"Hughes!" 

The man in question spun around on the spot, sun glinting off his wet hair as it peaked through the clouds. No more rain! It was early morning, and the sky was tinged with red, highlighting Hughes features as he walked up to his old friend.

"Heeeey, Roy. How did you get here so fast? Doesn't it usually take about 2 days to get here from Rizembool?"

"Yeah. But I showed the train driver my State alchemist pocket watch, and told him not to stop the train until we were at Dublith. How was he to know I wasn't even a soldier any more?" He twirled around, showing off his civilian clothing, which was nothing more that a coat, a shirt, and some plain trousers. "I said I was under cover. And anyway, how did _you_ get here so fast?"

"I know people." Hughes smiled darkly, looking evil. Roy didn't even ask.

"So, how have you and your family be-"

Before Mustang knew it, there was about a hundred pictures under is nose. "Ok-ok, this one is of my darling playing with her dolls-"

"Hughes-"

"Which I found really cute because she designed the dolls outfit herself with some material she found in her mothers drawers when we weren't looking-"

"Hughes-"

"God know's how she knew they there we didn't tell her she must have special powers! Isn't she such a creative, resourceful Angel!" The man didn't even pause to catch his breath after his speech.

"OK! WHATEVER! FORGET I ASKED! Damn it, if I could torch you right now, I would! But I need you with me when we spy!" Roy snorted angrily, slapping his friend around the head. "Now, come on, I need to get my gear on!"

"Wait, were going to spy on him in _broad daylight_?" Hughes gasped, staring at the man with startled green eyes.

"Of course! We have one week to find out all we can!" And with that, Roy turned away and strolled down the street, looking for a hotel that they could call _base_.

"Well!" Hughes smiled, gathering up his pictures before running after him. "This is going to be fun!"

* * *

What will Envy do?

Will Hughes and Roy be spotted spying on Ed?

How is Ed going to live through Izumi's discipline?

Was Havoc FLIRTING with Winry!!!!????

Will Al's and Roy's plan work?

Was Izumi being nice to Ed for a reason?

WE WILL FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER!! MMWWWAAHHAA!!!

Ok, Enough of all the underlining XD See how messed up the time line is? I don't know why that is… probably because my imagination run away with me… just ignore the timeline, and all will be fine. –Poem-

Anyhow, lookie at all the stuff that has happened! Im sorry, I promised Torture, but that's going to be next chapter since I needed to have the plot out of the way :D Sorry!

Don't worry, I'll make it extra painful for him… Yeah… -Evil thoughts-

Anyway, Reviews will be used to throw at Ed!

Ed: What?

Me: -Throws reviews at him-

Ed: Ow!!!!

Me: Heh, feel free to join in!


	12. The life of a Dog

Hey guys!

I cant be bothered to write a authors note, so lets skip right to the story!

PS: This chapter has Ed-abuse XD and Roy/Ed PARENTAL FLUFF. THIS IS NOT YAOI!!!

_Changing colors_

"Edward." Izumi said quietly, glancing down at the young alchemist standing sleepily in front of her, swaying slightly as the breezing pushed him to one side. She didn't give him time to have a break; she needed this sorted as fast as she could.

She cared for her student, almost as much as she cared for her own life. Sure, he could be pig-headed, arrogant, cocky, rude, and a lot of other things, but she couldn't help feeling some sort of attachment to him and his brother. After all: she had known him for many years now. She knew his strengths, his weaknesses and his beliefs. She knew how his attitude depended on whoever he was talking to, or what he was talking about, and she could read his mind even easier than he could.

In this state, she _didn't_ know what he was thinking, she _couldn't_ read him, and she felt like she had _no control_ anymore. And she hated it. It felt like she had no power over him- like all she was to him had vanished. As soon as she had looked into his eyes, she had seen his new insight on the world.

She hated what she saw there, too.

That was why she needed to change him back.

She almost laughed at herself. She was amazed at how Edward-like she sounded. Did he even care for his brother anymore? They were fighting when she had arrived at the scene….

"Welcome to your first day of discipline training." She continued suddenly, after noticing the confused look he was throwing her. She always did daydream to much.

"Today, you will learn how to live through life's harsh way's by becoming a canine."

Edward had to ask her to repeat what she just said.

"You, Edward Elric, are going to learn how it is to be a dog. _My _dog." She said rather harshly, closing her eyes. "No-one in your life has ever taught you discipline outside my training, not even that _darn_ Military. Is this true?"

Ed nodded his head slowly, mind clouding over.

"You are a dog from now on: a mindless, four legged animal that only lives to obey its master. _I_ am your master. Understood?"

"Yeah."

No! You crazy old bit-

He didn't even get time to finish the sentence in his head, before he found himself sprawled out on the ground, grass tickling his face and blood welling up inside his mouth. Spitting out the crimson substance, he shakily got up and looked up at her as she loomed over him.

Did she just kick me- for no reason?

"Did you not just understand what I just said?" She barked, eyes on fire. "_You_ are a _dog_. A _mere_ animal, not capable of _speech_ or _complex understanding_. You live to serve, and you _will_ follow my orders or be punished. Do you understand?"

No!

Ed remained silent, but still stared up at her.

"Good. Now, for your first instruction, I want you to _sit._" She said force fully, pointing at the floor. He didn't move.

She had carefully thought her training over, day-by-day, and had come up with _many different _punishment ideas for him if he disobeyed. He wanted to live his life as a military dog?

So be it.

"Edward, _sit. Now_."

"I am not a-!"

He found himself yet again on the floor as her fist came into connection with his still-bleeding face, his teeth clenched to together in pain.

"Even a _cat_ is more obedient than you! Have you no sense?" She snarled, placing her face in front of his. "Now, I believe I asked you to _sit."_

This time, Edward obeyed. Silently, he sat himself down quietly on the floor, crossing his legs.

He could see her hand flying to his face before he felt it.

"Fool! Do not sit as if you are a human!" Slapping him strongly once more, she snorted through her nose.

I am a human!

He obeyed once more, putting his legs out in front of him, leaning on his arms.

... A human couldn't have done the things I have done…

"Good." She said, looking satisfied. "You are going to sit like this until I say so. This garden is filled with alchemy traps that I have set up, prior to me bringing you here. If you even move a _finger_ out of place, not only will I personally punish you, but the traps will be triggered, and you _will_ get hurt." She smiled again, suddenly flicking her hair from her face.

She could've sworn she had heard someone shouting at her to stop…

"Good luck." She dismissed the sound quickly, swiftly clapped her hands and bringing them down on to the floor. Blue electricity ran through the air, a circle briefly appearing beneath him before disappearing. And with that, she span on her heel, and wandered inside her house.

Despite the sun, it was horrendously cold outside, and his back was already aching from the position he was in.

_Stupid bitch! What gives her the right to do this! Im trapped! I cant move!_

_You disserve it._

_Well, when I destroy central, im going to kill her first._

Edward almost smirked at himself.

_You can try._

* * *

"What! What does she think she's doing! That's so cruel!" Roy whined quietly, shuffling around on the branch he was sitting on. He was currently, and literally, about 5-6 metres above Edwards head, hiding in the leaves of a tree with Maes. They were clad in all black; black top, trousers, belts, and boots. They kind of looked like, just _kind of_ looked like, ninja's of some sort. 

Except they were wearing black jump suits in broad daylight.

"Don't worry about it! He'll be fine!" Hughes smiled, adjusting his glasses while balancing himself. "You know, she almost heard you back there."

"So." Roy replied, shuffling some more. "I don't care."

"How childish." Hughes commented, sniggering. Roy just snorted and continued to stare down at the boy.

"Maes- we need to see what she's doing inside the house." He whispered suddenly, upon seeing some sort of alchemy being used by the window.

"How am I going to do that?" Came the harsh reply.

"Spin upside down on the branch and use your arms and legs to grip on!"

"Are you crazy, Roy? Im going to look like a freak!"

"…"

"Good point." Slowly, he eased himself slowly round the branch until his nose was touching the branches underside and his arms were securely fastened round its top.

"Good going Roy- im upside down!"

"Duh! Get lower down!"

"If I get any lower, I'll be touching the floor!" Hughes could hear Roy groaning at him the moment the words left his mouth. Sighing as quietly and dramatically as he could, he let his arms become loose as he attempted to lower his head so he could peer inside the window.

He could see the woman, and a man. The woman was doing alchemy on something…

Wait- did she have a _whip_ in her hand?

Hastily, he tried to pull himself up again before discovering that his right hand currently had nothing to grip onto. Scrabbling frantically to get a hold on the bark, he felt Roy grip onto his remaining arm as he flailed around helplessly.

"Roy! Don't let me fall!"

"I wont! Stop moving!"

"I don't want to die! My beautiful daughter wont like it!"

"You wont, if you stop panicking!"

Roy! Help-" 

His breath suddenly froze in his throat as he turned his emerald eyes downwards.

"Roy- don't move or say anything." He breathed, motioning down with his free hand.

There bellow them, Edward was glancing around anxiously, wondering where all the noise was coming from. Roy could almost see the little alchemists ears twitching as his golden eyes scanned the area. With every second that past, his grip on Hughes slipping, much to his distress.

Hughes thought, closing his eyes and waiting for danger to pass. 

He only opened them when he heard Roy gasping.

There was a _photo-graph _slipping out of Hughes breast pocket.

They both watched eyes as big as dinner plates as the photo-graph slipped out of Hughes breast pocket, millimetre by millimetre, inching steadily towards the ground. Almost ironically, they could see little Elysia, smiling and waving in the photo-graph whilst holding a cute little umbrella in her remaining hand.

Millimetre by millimetre…

…it fell.

* * *

At the exact same time, in the Slums of the south, Al and Greed were quietly discussing small things as they sat together in a local park. 

"So, all I have to do is be used to open the Gate?"

"Yes."

"Ahh, kiddo, im gonna love being in a body like yours. Never to feel pain, eat, or tire- I could rule this world!"

"Why would you want to?"

"I have seen a lot of stuff, been in a lot of fights, and met a lot of girls. And then those _bastards_ sealed me." Al couldn't help but shiver at his tone. "It will be nice to finally get what I want after all this time."

Al truly did give the man sympathy; he wasn't really one of the bad ones. He just has had a bad life.

* * *

Envy was _still_ watching that tin-can and that Freak discuss stupid things as they stared into the stars. 

What _pathetic_ creatures!

So, the boy needed an escort to the Gate.

Why did he need to go _there_ for?

He will die! Along with that pitiful wretch of a homunculi!

Envy resisted the urge to laugh, fearing that it would give his place away.

Maybe the boy could help him… as he had said, his brother was in some place called "Dublith" at the moment.

He smirked, his eyes glinting. No-one was there to protect innocent little Alphonse now.

He time to have some fun.

* * *

Edward was bored stiff. It had only been about 20 minutes since his teacher had left him, and he was already aching and sore in many places. He didn't like this at all. 

He didn't exactly know what would happen if he suddenly moved, but he was sure it was going to be painful, and he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him hurt.

So, he sat _extremely_ still.

Then suddenly, he could feel his ears picking at a sound that had entered his hearing range (_how doglike). _It sounded strangely like people yelling for help…

Glancing around, he couldn't see anyone around him. In fact, the only thing he _could see_ without moving was the house in front of him, were he knew Izumi and her husband were probably eating lunch right now. He didn't remember the last time he had eaten too… maybe _that _was why he was so tired all the time…

Then suddenly, he noticed something on the wind, fluttering around as it neared the ground near him.

If something that _heavy_ touched the floor, he was as good as dead! 

As soon as the photograph's tip touched the first blade of grass, Ed tried to bolt forward towards the front gate, leaping out of his position and into the air.

Almost at once, electricity danced around him and forced him to stop in mid-flight as his muscles cramped up so he couldn't more.

And that wasn't the worst part.

As soon as he landed, he could feel blood leaking out of every inch on his body. He felt like his skin was on fire, muffling his scream by biting down on his tongue.

She had transmuted the _grass_ into _stone!_

How the _fuck_ did she do that!

Withering painfully on the now stony grass, he tried to be still as he felt its jagged edges ripping apart his skin, even through his clothes. Of all the days _not_ to wear his coat…

Leaning against his metal hand as much as he could, he eased himself off the ground so only his metal leg and hand was touching it. He didn't even know how long he could keep this up for- he could feel his consciousness slipping away from him. He knew he was going to fall any second.

Vaguely, in the background of his distorted hearing, he could make out people calling his name, far away…

Coughing, he began to shake violently as blood continued to leak out of him.

He hadn't slept _properly_ for a while.

He hadn't eaten for god knows how long.

He had lost so much blood…

How could he live like this?

He smiled, letting a chuckle of amusement escape his lips.

Not very long if he tried…

* * *

Almost as soon as the picture had touched the ground, Roy and Hughes had watched in terror as Ed had sprang from his place, only to be stunned slightly by blue electricity that had flow at him. 

Then, not soon after, the lush, green grass of the garden started to turn dingy grey and rapidly harden into sharp looking spikes in the shape of grass blades.

They could see Edward, tears of pain appearing in the corners of his eyes but not leaking as the small spikes ripped him apart as he struggled to get back up from paralysis. Then, leaning on his auto-mail, Edward balanced himself on the two limbs, his eyes weary but his mouth curved up into a sort of smile.

"Edward! Edward, don't! No!" Roy yelled at him, still holding onto Maes for dear life. Hughes tore his gaze away from the boy, and fixed his emerald eyes onto Roy's obsidian ones.

"Roy! Were not supposed to be here!"

Roy ignored him, gasping as he saw Edward collapse onto the spikes, blood mixing in with his golden hair as it travelled down his face.

"I can't! I can't let him do it! Look, Maes, he's punishing himself: look at him!" He could also see tears in Roy's eyes now as he continued to yell at Ed.

"Ed! Get up!"

Edward didn't move from his foetal position on the floor, his eyes kind of fluttering to a close, his pupils gone in a sea of molten gold as he coughed once more.

"Edward, _Move!_" The tears where moving freely down his face now, as he gripped harder onto Maes leg, causing the man to yelp as he took in the scene. "Maes, im going to swing you round. As soon as I do, put all your weight to one side and pull yourself up!"

Hughes didn't argue, seeing at the distressed state his friend was in.

Roy counted backwards to one, and almost suddenly hauled Hughes to one side as the man scrabbled his way round, eventually reaching the right-way up. He was about to thank Roy, but as he turned round, he notice his friend was already speeding down the bark towards Edward.

As soon as he reached the bottom, he could feel the grass beneath him slice through his shoes.

What a day to wear rubber-soled boots.

Quickly, he tip-toed over to Ed, before roughly gathering the boy in his arms and running out the front gate, checking to see that Maes was following him.

He wasn't, but Izumi was.

She had noticed the pool of blood where her student, no, her _child_ had sat, and her first thought was that she had taken this a little _too_ far this time around. But... It was to help him! All he had to do is stay still for about half an hour...

Shivering, she snapped her head forward, seeing as the man dressed in all black sprinted off with her pupil.

"Come back here! Give him back!" she puffed, attempting to clap her hands together. She was suddenly stopped when a small dagger appeared from out of nowhere, right between her fingers. Coming to a grinding halt, she swivelled her eyes around before looking for the man in all black again. He was gone.

And he had _her_ son.

* * *

Roy scowled to himself, bursting into his hotel room with Edward in his arms. 

There was blood _everywhere._

Shuddering, he tore Edwards already ruined clothes off until he was only in his boxers. Roy had never seen something so _pathetic_ in his life.

Edward's chest was covered in tiny, little marks that were bleeding slowly as he breathed in and out, every single rib in his body showing so clearly from his skin he could count them. Along his _real_ leg and arm, the cuts grew bigger as he had moved them around a lot while being impaled by the razor grass, them ones bleeding less but still leaking. His skin was pale and clammy, and his hair was not a dirtier shade of blonde that it had ever been. He hadn't noticed before, but black rings hung around Edwards eyes and his lips were blue, like he had been in sub-zero temperatures. Pressing an ear to Edward's chest, he could hear the boy's heart beat- which was alarmingly fast for someone that was _asleep._

Then suddenly, like his blades, Hughes appeared out of no-where, panting slightly as he clutched the door frame.

"How is he?" He breathed, shock on his evident on his face.

"Barely living." Roy snorted softly, stroking the boys hair. "I don't understand how I had let him get this way, Maes."

"It's not your fault!" Hughes pleaded, mind flashing back to the Ishbal incident involving the Rockbell doctors. He could see cdistantly in Roy's eyes that the man was angry at him. It was kind of his fault that Ed got shocked….

"It is, Hughes! How come he's so pale? I don't understand how he had gotten so sick so fast!"

Let me see…

He stays up all night because YOUR shouting at him again,

He gets kidnapped,

He stays out in the rain for hours on end,

He try's to DROWN himself,

MORE shouting,

More out-in-the-rain,

Fights brother AND teacher continuously, despite lack of food and sleep,

And THEN he's tortured by the person he was supposed to trust!

"Don't take this out on yourself, Roy, He has probably been sick for a while and hasn't told anyone."

"How are we going to help him?"

"Well first, you could let him sleep and swab his wounds." Hughes sighed, patting his bed while handing Roy a wet cloth he had retrieved from the sink. "I'll sleep on the couch; I don't mind."

Roy breathed a sigh of relief and placed the now tinier looking alchemist onto the bed and began to wipe his brow and cuts with the wet cloth. letting a small smile appear on his face as he watched the boy.

"Thank you, Maes. I don't know where I would be without you."

"Simple- you'd be dead." Hughes smiled, getting up from the bed Ed was on. "Im going to find food. You stay here and look after him." And with that, he disappeared out the door-way, closing the door behind him gently.

Turning his attention back to the boy, he frowned slightly as Edward started to twitch in his sleep, like he was having a bad dream. Stroking the boys hair again in an attempt to calm him down, he could hear the alchemist murmur something, his voice heavy with sadness.

"Im sorry, Roy." He breathed.

* * *

Aww, I love fluff :D WOAH, IZUMI IS CRUEL!!!!! WHY DO THAT!!! HE IS A HUMAN BEING!!! –Crys- 

Heheh, stone grass can be deadly...

But remember before you start flaming- IZUMI DID IT WAS TO HELP HIM. -Gets hit by flames-

Stupid Hughes, taking a picture with him while spying XD Mmmmm…. Roy and Hughes in a tree….. –Fantasises-

Oh yeah, and hes sick because he has not eating for days on end whilst not sleeping and had been fighting someone that cant get hurt and someone that's over-all a better fighter than him XD

Anyhow, im going to update quicker from now on, because im not at school anymore (7 weeks off! Yay!)

ANYWAY! There's gonna be some Al cruelty next chapter –I think-….. I love Greed! So cute!

Anyhow, im writing this at Half one at night, but im gonna post it later… wow, im dedicated XD

-WhiteWolfKitsune xxx


	13. Not quite together

Heheh, Quick-update!!!

Some of you were saying and PM-ing me stuff like "Izumi wouldn't do that!!!", but I have an explanation! Ok, here we go!

EXPLANATION!!!!! XD

All Ed had to do was stay still for 30 minutes. If you noticed, somewhere in the middle, it said that Izumi had left him about 20 minutes ago, which meant he had 10 minutes left before he could move again. Hughes dropped the photo when he had around 6-7 minutes left.

Now, if you think about it, if he was healthy, all he would have had is a few scratches on him. But because he was sick, injured and hadn't slept or eaten properly in days and was thrashing around, he got cut up a lot more.

PLUS!!! When Hughes dropped the photo, if Ed hadn't have jumped out of his place, he wouldn't have got electrocuted, and would have just had a sore butt instead :D

So, Ed shouldn't have jumped, but he did, because he didn't know what the trap would be. And its all Hughes fault for taking a picture on a mission. XD

Ok!!?? –Eyes pop out of skull- Well, I think that's right anyway…

Heh, here is the next chapter!

PS: Something bad is going to happen to one of the characters soon that some of the readers wont like… forgive me in advance… OO

* * *

_Changing colors_

Edward didn't wake up the following morning. Roy didn't worry though; the boy had had a tough time lately.

Five days left till he had to meet Al…

Five days was an awful long time to wait. He even wondered if Al had actually done his part and had acquired a sacrifice. Hopefully so, or there plan could go awfully wrong. It could even cost them there lives.

Roy wasn't a mastermind, or a prodigy like Edward was, but he knew what happened when people dabbled in human alchemy. The boy was a living example; well, a _near_ living one. He didn't know if a sacrifice would be enough for the trade, but if it was, he could let this blow over without notice. He didn't have a job, and he was on the run, but he already had a list of excuse's he would use if he was caught.

It looked like he would never be Fuhrer now…

Glancing around the bland room, he stared woefully at the clock on the wall. Maes had been gone for a while now. He left this morning to retrieve the paper, but knowing him, he had probably stopped along the way to show some poor fool photo's of his daughter. Still, it didn't take him hours on end, even to do that.

Turning his attention back to Edward, he frowned slightly as the boy twitched and murmured in his sleep. Poor kid. He wondered if that woman really did care for him at all. He didn't know how anyone could love that _bitch. _

Ever since yesterday, he had decided that he really didn't like Izumi Curtis. She was just _mean._ And that was the nicest way he could put it. She wasn't there to torture the poor child! She was there to _help_ him! And-

Where was Mae's with his darn paper?

And before he could even have time to blink, Maes came crashing through the door, almost on cue. After throwing the paper on the side and ignoring the comments Roy was murmuring under his breath, he dashed onto the sofa and collapsed there, trying to regain his breath.

"Roy I was showing these people a picture of my darling Elysia in the cutest summer outfit that had matching shoes and a hat when I turned around and that crazy lady that took Ed was there and she saw me and she was following me but I think I lost her but she might have still trailed me!"

Roy just looked at him like he was insane. So… Izumi was following him?

Hughes could almost see the gears in Roy's mind working and winding until a sort of strangled cry came from his throat.

"Does she know where we are?" Roy panicked, leaping to his feet.

"Maybe! I don't now!"

"Damn it, Hughes! You're supposed to be working for investigations!" Mustang cursed, diving into his wardrobe for his gloves. Hughes done exactly the same, but pulled out his knives instead.

"She's going to try and take him back!" Roy hissed, turning to the door whilst poising his fingers at the same time. "Don't let her get near him!"

Maes beamed mentally at the man, briefly locking eyes with him. He was so protective, like a father to a son. He knew, on the outside, that they pretended to hate each-other, but Roy and Edward secretly admired each other more than they hoped.

He thought Roy would make an excellent father to Edward and Alphonse! Well, not as good a father as he was to his adorable little Elysia, but a pretty good one none the less.

Concentrating his gaze back onto the door, he smiled at the thought of Ed's face when he found out he had missed all of this…

* * *

_10 minutes later…_

"Roy."

"Yeah?"

"I don't think she's coming."

Roy sighed, dropping his hand. He _finally_ had a chance to use his spark gloves, and he never got to.

"Well, im going to check anyway." He concluded, turning the knob on the door slowly. Mae's knew better than to stop him. He had _no right_ to be scared of someone like her. Even if he himself was a little scared…

Gathering up his courage, he forced the door open with a determined scowl on his face.

"And tell Edward, if I don't come back," He said, turning around briefly to face Hughes. "I lo-… tell him to stay out of trouble." He smirked, gaining a smile from his comrade as well. And quietly, he closed the door behind him, sneaking down the corridor with such stealth even he couldn't hear his own breathing.

He turned the corner quickly, silently wishing she wasn't in sight. Luckily for him, he couldn't find her anywhere in the building.

"She's not so smart." He breathed, taking a step outside. It was hot; he could literally feel sweat already pouring down his face. Now, all he had to do was find out where she was before she found him.

"And tell Edward, if I don't come back, I lo-… tell him to stay out of trouble."

Hughes smiled warmly at Roy's form as he closed the door behind him. That man was unbelievable! Maes didn't think he would be able to escape the fierce with woman without a few scratches. Maybe even a severed head.

Shivering, he tried not to think of his friend laying battered in the middle of the road/room by himself, but instead pictured him torching the woman like a marsh-mellow. Not a pleasant thought either…

Just as he was about to continue with his train of thoughts, he was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

_Ignore it._

The knock came again, but louder this time.

_Ignore it!_

Hughes expected to hear another knock, but it didn't come. Instead, the door flew off of its handles, nearly colliding with the man as he leapt out of the way.

"Give him to me." Izumi stated, holding out her hand. She had a weary look on her face, and a scowl on her lips, but Hughes didn't feel frightened anymore. Instead, he immediately stepped in front of Ed's bed and raised the knives that he was still holding.

"Sorry, but I don't think his father would like that." He stated calmly, keeping his eyes on the woman. "What gives you the right to take him?"

"The fact that I love him like my own son. Is that not enough?"

"No. Roy loves him too, and he didn't _torture_ him with ridiculous training methods."

"Torture him? But I… oh." She drifted off, staring at the ceiling.

Maes just looked at her, a confused look on his face.

"Is Roy here now?" She said, staring back at him with an annoyed look. "I need to speak with him urgently."

* * *

"Ok, Mr.Greed, could you please meet me there in five days?" Alphonse said, bowing his head. "I would appreciate it."

His politeness caused the homunculus to laugh.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo!" Greed smiled, showing off his shark-like teeth. "I'll be here. But for now, I've got some woman to catch." And before Al could say anything else, he had disappeared.

"I hope he remembered…" He whispered to no-one, looking up at the sun. Taking a step forward, he suddenly found himself falling rapidly to the ground, landing in a heap on the floor as metal scraped against metal in a horrible chorus of noise.

"Hey, Tin-can. Looking for this?"

Al recognised that voice.

"Envy?" Turning a bit, he found the Homunculus to his left, his entire leg in his hand. "What? How-"

"Don't worry. Im not going to kill you. I just want someone to play with. Plus I want you to take me to your brother, so I can kill him. I don't care what _she_ says anymore." He snorted, hovering over the boy while lifting him up by his arm so he couldn't use alchemy, while at the same time tossing the metal leg backwards.

"If you don't agree with what im telling you, you won't make it to your play-date with the traitor." He smiled, indicating the direction Greed had taken off in.

"No! Let me go! I won't let you hurt him!" Al squealed, trying to hit the homunculus.

Envy smirked, putting his face close to the Armour's helmet.

"Well then, this is going to be a rough ride for you."

* * *

Roy growled as he entered his hotel room, seeing Izumi sitting there, a pissed look on her face. He immediately leapt over to the still sleeping Ed and made sure he was ok.

"You." He hissed, pointing a gloved finger at the woman. "I've been looking for you for you all over this stupid town, and I find you in my room? Get out."

Izumi didn't move, but looked him straight in the eyes. Her black orbs where swirling with anger and sadness at the same time.

"Do you know who Joseph Garser is?" She started, watching as both men gasped. "He came to me, last week."

"H-He came to you?" Roy gulped, fearing what she was going to say.

"Yes. He said he was an alchemist, looking for help. He had a huge gash on one of his arms, and it looked infected. So I invited him in." She paused, breathing in slowly. "He said he knew about my condition… he said he knew about my son…"

Both the men looked at each-other with wide eyes.

"Anyway, just as I was about to kick him out, he said to me; 'Soon, someone you love is going to be in danger, and you're going to have to be tough on them to get them back to normal.' I didn't believe him, but then all of a sudden, I was in front of the Gate… and I saw me, and my _real_ son... and the transmutation… and he was gone when I came back."

"An illusion…" Hughes breathed, shifting his eyes to Roy. "He used alchemy to create the illusion on his arm so he could talk to her."

"What? He used alchemy on you?"

"I suppose so. How could he have sent me to the Gate-way like that? And without a circle…"

"Well, it seems like this goes further than Ed… do you feel any different?" Roy queried, looking stunned yet angry.

"No, but I feel like I need to help him." She said, standing, causing Roy and Maes to raise their guards again. "That man knew everything about me, even though I had never met him before. He also somehow knew Ed was going to turn out like this…"

"He's in safe hands. Just leave it to us."

"And im supposed to trust the word of a military dog, eh?" She smiled, lifting up her hands in a surrendering motion as soon as she saw their faces. "Ok, I give in. Can I just see him, please?"

Roy and Hughes stepped out the way after a period of time, letting the woman pass. She bowed to them briefly before dropping to her knees beside his bed side, stroking the boy's hair tenderly.

"Edward, I want you to get better; ok?" She whispered, mainly to her self. "Don't die on me…" she wasn't stupid; he was safe here.

And she could live with that.

After all, that Garser man had done something to her...

Roy watched her get up and pace steadily to the door, not bothering to look back as she closed the door. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he collapsed on the sofa, shortly followed by the sound of Hughes hitting Roy's bed.

"Another twist in the tail, eh?" Roy smirked, glancing over at his friend. Of course, Maes knew everything that had happened up till the present day, courtesy of Roy.

"Yeah." Hughes answered, smiling as well.

"Hey, how did she find out what room we were at?"

"Oh, she found one of my pictures stuck to the door…"

"You stuck a picture to the door?!"

"You know! In case you forgot where we lived!"

Roy mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like; "Yeah, because that would happen."

"Hey, look who's finally up!" Hughes said nervously, changing the subject. "Good evening, sleepy head!"

Sure enough, Edward was raising his head from his pillow, trying to muffle a yawn with his auto-mail. Blinking owlishly, he tossed his head back and forth as he noticed the two grown men smiling at him.

"What? Roy? Hughes? Where am I?" He questioned, his voice still thick with sleep.

"At our hotel room. We saved you from Izumi after she nearly killed you."

"But Teacher," he paused to yawn again. "Would never hurt me. It was for my own good."

"If you want to believe that, then go ahead. But its not true. You didn't disserve that. Now," Roy said, changing the conversation yet again. "Are you hungry?"

"No, not really." Edward whispered, turning away. Roy and Maes sent each other worried looks.

"Ed, I really think you should eat something." Maes intervened.

"No, really. Im ok…"

_Don't eat anything. You cant._

"Im sorry… I cant…" Edward hated himself for feeling weak, but he couldn't help it.

"Don't worry, Edward. It's fine." Roy soothed, kneeling beside his bed like Izumi had done minutes ago. "It's ok. Don't rush yourself." He patted Edwards head slowly, allowing the boy to nuzzle the inside of his hand with his face, like a cat to its owner's hand.

Then suddenly, the scene was disturbed when a large, ugly look crow suddenly appeared at the window, tapping on the window with its beak. It had something in its talons, and had an intelligent look on its face. Once deciding that Roy wasn't going to open the window to let it in, it dropped its package on the window sill and took off, its purple eyes glinting in the sun and the air rolled off of its blackish-green feathers.

Somehow, the object looked familiar…

Opening the window, he took the object in his hands before nearly dropping it on the floor.

"Roy? What's that?" Edward asked, trying to look at it. And slowly, Roy held out the object in his hand so Edward and Maes could see at the same time.

It was a small chunk of metal, with a cross on it. There was a crown, and two wings protruding from its top, and a snake crossed around its middle, drawn in what looked like…blood?. This was…

He could literally hear Edward's breath halt in his chest.

"…Alphonse?"

* * *

Ok, to get one thing clear quickly. Envy, in the Manga, can change into animals, but he cant in the Anime. So, one guess who the bird was XD

And also, the little piece of metal with the blood on it is the Flamel symbol on Al's arm, in Ed's blood. Poor Al, I wonder how he is…

And thank you reviewers! To answer some:

Sepapa-chan: Yay, Virtual cookie! Im glad you like my story!

ED ELRICS GIRL: Yay! Ive got a hyperactive fan XD LETS BE HYPER!!! YEAH!!!

Dark Chocolate Alchemist: Heh, I am cruel. In real life, AND on :D Thank you for reviewing! You rock too!

Tears of Eternal Darkness: I love your cat face! Thanks for reading! - -STOLEN- XD

And thank you to everyone else! Sorry not much happened in this chapter, but you cant have suicide all the time XD

Anyhow, reviews will now be used to save Al (or hurt him). Heh, AL TORTURE!!!!

PS: Thank you specially to SwiftFeather and jenelric: You two are my special regular reviewers!!! XD Hopefully, I'll be updating again in a few days…

Love, Kitsune-san xxx


	14. Like father and son

-1YO! XD Yeah, Im hyper because I just ate a doughnut and I keep randomly sneezing! This is the 5th time in 45 minutes! I think my cats afraid of me now…

Oh, this chapter has angst in it…. Yay!

_Changing colors_

Neither Hughes nor Mustang could get through to Edward that night. As soon as he had taken in the sight of his brother's armour, he had hidden himself underneath the covers of his bed and stayed there.

Roy had shaken him, over and over again, trying to get a response, but there wasn't a single sound. Roy wondered if he was even alive under there.

"Edward, please come out." Roy pleaded, shaking him again. "You're going to suffocate if you stay there too long." Edward still didn't move. Sighing, Roy sat down on his bed and laid down next to the boy, lifting up the covers as he did.

Edward appeared to be sleeping, his hands by his tear-stained face as he grasped the blood- marked piece of metal in his flesh hand. Roy couldn't help but frown a little, pulling the cover's off of Ed's head. After getting off his bed and fetching himself a drink, he noticed the covers where back over Edwards face again.

He closed his eyes momentarily, and sat back down on the edge of the mattress.

"You know, Edward, Im sure he's fine…"

There was a choked sob.

"Don't worry; were going to find him as soon as possible. Or as soon as you feel like moving. But it's too late to search now… and what if it's a trap?"

"Then I would gladly sacrifice myself for him." That _defiantly_ sounded like the old Edward to him.

"Don't be stupid, Edward. We don't want to loose both of you. One is bad enough." _How am I going to meet you Alphonse…_ Roy thought, stroking his chin in a puzzled manner. _Idiot! You went and got captured at a crucial time like this!_

"Hey, Roy." Hughes grinned, making himself known as he stepped out of the bathroom in just a towel, still wet from his shower.

"Mae's! Your getting the floor wet!" Roy scolded, pointing at the puddle beneath Hughes's feet. The man shrugged and went back into the bathroom to dry off properly before Roy had a heart-attack.

The man had had a busy time between worrying about Edward and Alphonse, and trying to fix the door Izumi broke. He had managed to weld the door to its hinges, but now it didn't open properly… And Hughes hadn't helped… Damn that man and his pictures!

"Idiot's. They all are." Roy scoffed, throwing himself on the opposite bed and closing his eyes. Sleep sounded good right now.

* * *

Al was literally in piece's. His arm and the other leg had disappeared during his torture time, much to his disadvantage. Plus, he had to listen to Envy ranting on about how to kill his brother.

"Well, I know he cant swim, so maybe I'll drown him… or even better- suffocate him somehow!" He giggled, waving Al's arm around. "Oh, this is going to be _so_ fun when we meet your brother in 5 days time!"

"No! You can't! I need to draw a c-" He was cut off as he found himself flying through the air and into a wall, the sound of metal scraping against stone penetrating his mind.

"Ah! A circle! Your going to perform alchemy on the shrimp!" Envy smirked, purple eyes glinting. He caught on fast.

"No! Not at all!" Al lied in a shaky voice. Al was an _extremely _bad liar.

"Yeah right. Don't worry- your still going to draw your little circle. But for a different purpose." There was some maniacal laughter, followed by the sound of soft foot steps. "Hey- why don't we send your brother a present from us?"

"What?"

"Yeah… a nice little something, courtesy of Shou tucker, to carry a message for us…"

There was more laughter.

"Lets see if he can handle it."

* * *

_**Midnight… in Dublith**_

Edward couldn't sleep, even when he didn't have the cover over his face. Not only was it the sickening feeling of dread he felt as he worried about Al, but he was so hungry it hurt. The two men had tried to feed him throughout the day, but he wouldn't have any of it.

If Al couldn't, he shouldn't be able to eat as well…

Right?

Hearing his stomach growl again, he curled up closer to himself, tears coming to his eyes again. It really hurt…

He wondered if he was ever going to be normal again. Well, as normal as he could be. It was pointless to resist what his mind told him anymore, because most of the time it made sense. He _didn't_ disserve to be loved! He didn't!

He could feel the tears rolling violently down his face again, his breath hitching as he chewed the edge of the covers on sheer survival instincts. He hurt so much…

Beyond the reach of his cover's, Roy watched him with pity as the boy struggled to control his emotions. He looked so weak, so _fragile_ compared to his old self. He really had to eat something soon, or he was going to die of malnutrition.

Through slit-like eyes, he watched as the boy slowly got out of bed and tiptoed over to the kitchen area, where Roy lost sight of him. He knew that if he followed him now, he would loose trust. And he didn't want that. Plus, he could already feel his eyes closing as sleep over took him…

He fell asleep.

_**In the Kitchen…**_

_I cant eat…_

Edward hissed in his mind, collapsing on the counter.

_But I need water…_

Shakily, he poured himself out a glass of water, gulping it down in one. It made him feel numb, but better than he had been.

_Idiot! Al can't even drink and you indulge yourself in it?_

_No! I-Im not!_

_You're selfish. All you care about is yourself. _

_No! I don't! I don't care about my self! He'd want me too- _

He was cut off from his mental war by the sudden lurching of his stomach, making him stagger forward from the spot. He dashed to the bathroom, quickly locking the door behind him before throwing up in the toilet, his chest heaving as there was nothing to throw up.

Edward suddenly collapsed, head hitting the tiled floor with such force it made blood leak from his forehead. His vision was blurry, and his throat stung with the acid taste of bile. He couldn't stand it. He wanted to give up.

Gritting his teeth together, he closed his eyes to let pain throb through his head.

_It hurts… I can't take it…_

He slowly bought his hands together in a clapping motion, swiping his hand across his metal arm to produce a short, sharp blade. There would be no point slitting his wrist's: he probably wouldn't die since he only had one that could bleed.

He really couldn't afford to give in. He knew he had to stay alive for Al… yes… its all for Al…

But maybe he just wanted to die to end all the pain…

He gasped suddenly, clutching his chest as pain erupted near his heart, like he was getting stabbed again. Was it guilt? Could it be this bad? He didn't know, he was confused, tired, hungry, sick, and bleeding from his head.

He brought the blade up to his neck, tilting it slightly so it wasn't full on. He wasn't stupid. He was a scientist, and knew everything on human anatomy He knew that if he tried to slash his neck full on, he would probably die of suffocation since the blade would pierce his trachea and stop there. But if he could tilt it side on, he could hit his carotid artery _without_ suffocating. Suffocation _hurt like hell. _

Pressing the cold metal to his throat, he could feel his pulse beneath his blade. He felt anxious all of a sudden, his eyes averting away from the task. The voice was right; he was selfish. But it was for a good cause. All the pain he caused other's, all the lives he destroyed, everything. The way he had took out his anger on Al. The way his action had put him and Roy in danger the last few days...

_Roy._

What did he think about… _Roy?_ He faintly remembered Roy saying to him that he had almost called him son. _Almost._ It wasn't right. How could this man, who had only known him for about 4 years now, want to protect him? His real father didn't even want to do that, and he had known him for longer. He really, _badly_ wanted to trust him, but what happened if he left suddenly, and didn't come back?

And Al…

Al would be broken! He missed him enough all ready. Though he was probably dead by now. His blood seal had probably been reduced to mere to shards of blood-stained metal, his body just a huge scrap of metal, lifeless.

Though he was lifeless before…

Sub-consciously, during his thoughts, he had pressed the blade deeper into his neck. The tip was now piercing his skin, but not enough to do damage of any kind. He could feel the dull throbbing underneath his blade get quicker, his breathing becoming erratic.

This was it? All these time's he had nearly died, and now he was going to become prey to his own hands? Where was the _thrill?_

His body was shaking now- causing the blade to delve further in. He was overly conscious of his rapid heart-beat in his ears. He was almost scared to make it stop, almost scared to end it all.

_Shit_. He was panicking.

Blood from his head was now mingling from the blood coming out of his neck, running down his chest and over his scar's, making him shudder as the hot liquid begun to cool.

Ah, his scars.

If his memories couldn't prove the existence of his frantic life, these could. He had gained some extra ones recently, some still scabbed over. They were there to remind him that he wasn't perfect. He had once told someone, not long ago, that "Alchemist's were the closest thing to gods that existed." A god? If he was a god, then why did he feel so _weak…_

He didn't know why, but he felt un-manly. He was useless in this state. Useless! Utterly, completely, USELESS!

He yanked the weapon away from him roughly, turning his gaze downwards in shame. He was too _afraid _to end it. The boy no longer had the blade at his throat, but he still felt its metallic presence lingering on his flesh. He knew he was panicking too much, but he couldn't help it. The corners of his vision were becoming black and fuzzy now, and his breath came out in short gasps. He was hyperventilating.

_I cant control my body…_

He looked down shakily as his real hand.

_I feel so numb_…

.His eyes scanned the room, eyeing the blood streaked around on the floor. He used his auto-mail, which he transmuted quickly back to its normal state, to push himself to his feet where he staggered about in-securely. He quickly began to tug down some towels that were loitering around in a wonky cupboard and proceeded to scrub the floor on his hands and knees with them. This all just resulted in bloody towels.

"Work, god-dammit, work!" he pleaded quietly, scrubbing harder. No avail.

_What are you doing?_

_I have to get rid of it before some wakes up!_

_Why? Don't you want them to see you're suffering?_

_No! Roy will worry!_

_But I thought you didn't like him._

_No, YOU don't like him. I do!_

_And who do you think I am?_

He stopped wiping and sunk to his knees, cradling the towels in his arms. _Hopeless._ He'd been sleeping for hours on end, but he felt tired. More tired than he had ever felt.

Edward slowly rose to his feet yet again, dropping his towels and abandoning them on the floor. He could breathe better now, but he hurt. His vision was black and hazy, and he couldn't move freely. He now just wanted to sleep, and never wake up... He wanted to slumber in eternal bliss with his brother, in his real body, and live there…

He dragged his feet over to a cabinet, all injury's forgotten, located above the sink and mirror, opening the door with tender fingers. Before he could even stop himself, he had reached in and pulled out a bottle of some sort.

Sedative.

How convenient.

He didn't know whose they were (probably Roy's- he knew how many nightmares that man had), or how much he should take, but they didn't _look_ strong. He only wanted a few. Then, he could get to sleep…

Unscrewing the capsule, he tapped it lightly, shaking a few of the pills into his hand.

Five? Four? Ok fine; Three. That should be enough, right?

He didn't bother with water, and just swallowed them dry instead. His throat felt like it was on fire, from the crying, and his chest burned from over-breathing, and this didn't aid the cause. He felt like _shit._

Returning slowly to his bed on aching legs, he stopped briefly to steal a glance at Roy's sleeping form. He was probably tired of looking after him. Everyone he loved ends up dead, or severely injured. But he couldn't help but wonder if-

_Don't you dare. __He doesn't love you. You're not his son, you're just his pet._

Edward hissed openly at the voice, suddenly feeling woozy. For the second time that night, he had _fallen._ Pathetic! He couldn't even stand!

He could feel the red liquid running down his head again from the previous wound as he shakily clawed his way to the bed nearest to him- which happened to be Roy's. He didn't have the strength to stand up again, let alone get into the bed. He couldn't fight the medicine anymore- it was making him drowsy and light-headed. So, like some sort of ill, injured dog, he leaned his head on his arms and curled up onto the floor, oblivious to the fact he was still bleeding.

_I know you can't hear me, Roy. _He said mentally, eyes closing._ But I just want to let you know that as soon as you leave me, im going to hate you more than ever. You are my father, and I love you. You've been there to protect me all this time, something my real father wouldn't do. But please understand that im too costly to have as a family member, or a friend. Please Roy, save me._

No answer.

He cuddled closer to the frame of the bed, seeking warmth.

It was too cold.

* * *

Roy opened his eyes, taking in the sunlight. It was going to be a beautiful day today. He could already see the cloudless sky coming into focus from the window near his bed.

But strangely, Edward wasn't in his bed.

"Edward?" He asked, glancing around. The young boy wasn't in sight. And to his horror, leading to his bed, there was a thin trail of what looked like bloody foot-prints…

"Maes! Maes!" He yelled, to the man on the sofa. He didn't stir. Ignoring him, he anxiously peered over the edge of his bed, dreading what he saw there.

Sure enough, he had found his target.

Edward looked _drugged,_ from what he could tell. The boy had been getting a lot of rest, but there was black rings hanging under his closed eyes, framed by his pale skin. His head was caked with dry blood, and his neck had some sort of notch in it.

"God… Edward!" He yelled, jumping off his bed to shake the boy on the floor. Edward's eyes slowly fluttered open, but as he looked at Roy the usual golden color became hazed.

"Ed…ward?" He chocked, looking confused and in pain. He didn't even try to struggle as Roy picked up the sickeningly light teen and placed him onto the bed.

"Yes, Edward. What's all this!" he hissed, pointing to the deep looking wound on Edwards neck. It didn't look fatal, but it could easily get infected. "And this!" he continued, pointing to the boys head.

"I d-don't know…" He sniffed, closing his eyes. "Where I am-m…"

Roy looked down at him in confusion and fight, before deciding wake up Hughes and gather bandages as quick as he could. He didn't get very far when he felt a small hand wrap around his wrist.

"I-I told you that if you left m-me, I would h-hate you." The boy blinked, feeling the words flow out of his mouth, like a distant memory. "Don't leave me…"

"Edward," Roy smiled sadly, sitting down on the bed. Edward instantly fell into his arms, his breathing shallow and his grip weak.

"Don't…" He whispered softly, looking up at the man with despair in his eyes. Roy lent down, leaning his for-head against Ed's, trying to avoid the bleeding parts which he was going to tend too soon. He closed his eyes and in-haled the scent of Ed's hair, trying to awaken more parental feeling's inside him that had been hard to recognise since recently. He had never had to deal with children before.

"Edward," he began, looking into the honey-colored eyes just centimetres from his own. "I've dealt with you for around four years now, through everything; to the times where you would annoy me with your excessively long rants, or worry me when I would find you in hospital. I promised when we started all of this that I was going to help you. And im not going back on my promise now." He breathed, watching as the blonde's eyes widened.

"But look at all the people I've killed and hurt!" Edward said in a hurt tone, regret showing on his face. His chest hurt from being compressed against Roy for so long, but he didn't mind. He wanted this.

"Everyone's going to die eventually; and you only killed those people to protect me and Al. Them people are _nothing_ compared to you. Think about all the people you _helped_ along the way, instead of hurt. There's a lot more happy people in the world because you. Sure you cost me my job. So what?"

"Don't you love your job?"

"I don't care! I love YOU more! Don't you see that?" He reasoned, kissing Edward softly on his head. "It was _worth it._ Because I get to see my son get better."

The look on Edwards face was _indescribable._

"And now, as soon as your healed, I have to go retrieve my other son, where-ever that little trouble maker has got to." He smiled, feeling Edward hug him more.

"You mean it?" Edward gasped, tears in his eyes.

"Of course." Roy smirked, moving away from Edward, much to the boys discomfort.

"Now; are you going to let your dad help you with your wounds?" he grinned again, making his way over to the emergency first aid box in the kitchen. He didn't want to go into the bathroom; he knew he wouldn't be able to face what was in there yet.

And of course, Hughes had been watching the whole scene from afar.

"Beautiful!" He whispered to a photo of Elysia in his hands, one where she was trying to cook a chocolate cake by her-self and had ended up in frosting every-where. "He couldn't have been better, sweet-heart." He hugged the picture close to his body, peering over the sofa to glance at Ed's face. He looked relived, yet sad. Maybe it was because of the fact that Al wasn't here with him.

"Look's like Roy has two new additions to his family." He beamed, looking at the man, who was softly humming to himself in the kitchen, retrieving bandages.

"Yes; I believe he will make an excellent father."

* * *

OMG THIS CHAPTER WAS A KILLER TO WRITE!!!!!!!!!!

I have three different versions of this chapter:

1.This one, which I found cute!

2.One where Ed gets into a predicament where he could never get out of- _alive_ that is. He could not have made it to the next chapter. This one scare's me… its incredibly dark.

3.And one where its just so emo, Ed couldn't have survived it either. Its not as… _freaky_ as the other one, but still…

Neither of the two I decided not to use are finished- for a _reason._ Im not bumping the rating up because of these two!! We don't want to kill off Ed… _yet._ :D

Also, the next chapter is going to be GORY. It concerns what Envy was talking about… 'The present'….

OH YEAH- NOT YAOI. WHEN THEIR SAYING THINGS LIKE "I LOVE YOU" ITS PARENTAL LOVE. XD

AINT ROY A CUTE FATHER???!!! AWWWW!!! Poor Edo. He's hit his head so many times he lost some of his memory. AND he's suicidal. Don't worry; he didn't spear himself on his blade THAT much. It went only about 2 centimetre's in. But of course, its his neck, and he's weak, so its gonna do more damage than normal.

The drug I chose to give him is called Triazolam.

Side effects from Triazolam are common and include:

headache

heartburn

hangover effect (grogginess)

drowsiness

dizziness or lightheadedness

weakness

dry mouth

Eds going to be soooo Ill next chapter…

Review time!!! (Remember: I can't answer them ALL. But even if I don't answer you, I still know our there: 3

Sepapa-chan: YAY!!! COOKIE!! –Shares it with cat- mmmmm… chocolate chip… -drools- Oh yeah, I didn't answer your question before because I didn't want to spoil anything for theis chapter! XD Heh, when Ed is sleepy, he's easier to capture…

-Plots-

Swift-feather: You cant really Al torture, but you can treat him like dirt :D Don't worry: I've got big plans for him… -Evil grin-

Jenelric: I know! I hate Envy too! –Kick's him- HAH! XD I luff Ed/Roy Parental fluff!!!! Its sooooo scream worthy!!! –Screams-

Dark chocolate alchemist: HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! AL IS MINE TO TORTURE!!!! Heheh, as I said above, I've got big plans for him… :D

Anyhow, reviews will be used to keep WhiteWolfKitsune warm. It's freezing in England at the moment, since its always raining… -Mumbles something about never having sun-

Lots of love,

Kitsune-san, AKA WhiteWolfKitsune xxx


	15. A Chimera's message

-1Kind of a short chapter… :3 Soz!

* * *

Bandages.

How he _hated_ bandages.

It wasn't taking them off that annoyed him, but it was the little matter of putting them _on_ that pissed him off. It hurt like hell!

"Roy…" He whined breathlessly, grimacing in pain as he felt his head being wrapped up.

"Don't moan, Edward." Roy smirked, winding it tighter on purpose. "It'll make your head heal faster."

There wasn't anymore complaint, but he was sure he could hear Edward mumbling stuff under his breath.

The boy wasn't hostile now, but was oddly quiet. He was still missing Alphonse (everyone was) but at least he wasn't being sick anymore or hurting himself.

Roy still couldn't bring himself to go into the bathroom…

"Yo!"

"Oh no…" Roy hissed under his breath, already knowing what was coming.

"I just got off the phone from Gracia and she said that Elysia said she was missing me and there's this-"

"Roy?" Ed whispered over the back-ground noise known as Maes Hughes. "D-do I know him?"

"-I noticed that boy Tommy looking at her in an affectionate way, and I just wanted to ram a knife through his skull-"

"Edward! That's Maes! You know; Elysia's dad?"

"-And 'darn it!' I thought, 'That boy LIKE'S my little Elysia!' I mean- how could you not? But still-"

"Oh…" Ed laughed hollowly, eyes still clouded with confusion. "Yeah… him."

"-the nerve of him!" Maes finished, gasping for breath. "So, sorry, Roy, im going to have to abandon you."

"Your leaving because Elysia is having boy troubles?" Roy smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"No, its much more serious than that- when he knew I was gone from home, he KISSED her!" The man screamed, quickly packing his stuff. "Before you know it, they'll be doing 'other stuff'. And my daughter's too young for 'other stuff!'"

"Don't worry, Maes." Roy laughed, slapping the man heartily on the back.

"Are you sure you'll be ok? Because, I can send Armstrong over-"

"No." The man said quickly. "I'll be ok."

"Keep strong, Roy. Everything's going to be fine."

"Yeah, where have I heard that before? Now go, before I force you too. I've had enough of your phone calls and your pictures and your constant interfering."

"You don't mean that."

A sly smile crept over the black-eyed mans face, before he shoved the man out the door and closed it. Hughes hadn't even gathered half of his belongings yet.

"But I didn't get time to say good-bye to Ed!" Hughes called through the door, sounding sad. Roy ignored it with a roll of his eyes, telling Maes to go home. The man in question huffed behind the door and stormed off, wondering why Roy shooed him away so quickly.

Truthfully, seeing him gone was a breath of fresh air to Roy.

Maes was a good man and friend, but too much of him was…

_Annoying._

Plus, he was confusing Edward…

"You sure you don't remember him?" Mustang said softly, walking up to Eds bed with an gentle look on his face.

"Kind of… " Edward whispered, placing his hands on his skull. "My head hurts…"

"Do you feel angry?" it was the first thing Roy could think of saying.

"No…" Ed felt sadly. "Everything feels fuzzy…Im tired…"

Roy contemplated what he said for a second, rolling his tongue around his mouth.

"I can get you medicine if you want me too… but I am not going to like what I find in the bathroom, am I?"

Edward's breath hitched as he turned his gaze downwards, away from the man. He knew Roy wasn't going to like what he saw in there at all.

"You know what? My head doesn't hurt anymore!" He smiled warily, lying through his teeth as the pain intensified. Roy just stared at him bluntly before getting up and making his way towards the bathroom door. He had dreaded this moment for a while now.

"Roy!" He yelped, attempting to get up, only to fall back down. "Roy please!"

He was ignored.

"Don't go in there…" he whimpered, closing his eyes. Roy pressed his palm flat against the door of the bathroom, pushing it open so slowly it creaked on its hinges, taking a deep breath before stepping in.

"Shit…"

The bathroom, that once stood proud in its white and pristine glory, was ruined by the streaks of crimson that occupied the floor as well as a vast selection of once-fluffy towels. He could see bloodied foot-prints; faint ones, but they were still there all the same. Roy could have only guessed what had gone on in here, but he figured it had something to do with Edwards neck and his auto-mail.

Yes, the _auto-mail. _

Like he hadn't noticed the blood on the _damned_ auto-mail.

Cringing, he literally ran to one side of the room, retrieving the pain-killers (and ignoring the bottle of pills that seemed out of place on the side of the sink) before dashing out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

"Edward-"

"I know! I know! Im sorry!" the boy wept. "Dis-own me! I don't disserve to live!"

And for the second time in an hour, he was being _hugged._

And then _slapped._

"Don't you dare say that ever again, Edward." Roy hissed into the boys ear, eyes on fire.

"Or what?"

"Something _much worse _that a slap will occur." It wasn't an empty threat.

"Is that anyway to treat your son?"

"Is that something you should say to your father?"

"…"

"Exactly." Roy smirked in triumph, patting the boy on the head, all anger forgotten.

Again.

_Jeez… im too soft. _Roy thought, smiling inwardly.

"Your going to take this, ok?" He said, holding out a single pill. "It'll make your headache go away."

_Cant take medicine… just had some…_

_Dumb-ass. You take medicine, and you properly wont wake up next time you fall asleep. _

_But my head… and my chest…_

"Roy, I cant take the medicine."

"Why?"

_Lie. Right now. _

"Because I don't need it."

_Good._

"Don't lie, Edward." Roy scolded, waving his finger around. "It's not like you."

"I don't need it!" Edward growled, face becoming darker.

_Yeah- you don't. You disserve to suffer for what you have done. And he was the cause of all of this. You know- there's no-one around. You could commit murder, and no-one would know-_

_Shut-up! _his good conscience had just found its voice.

_What? Awwwww, how cute. He said he loves you, and you melt at him. He's just stringing you along-_

_No! He loves me! He loves me he loves me he loves me-_

_You keep believing that. Lets see how long his love lasts-_

"Edward? Edward! Whats wrong?" Roy's voice sounded in the background.

_Your owner's calling you. You gonna answer? Or am I gonna take over from here?_

_Don't!_

_You cant control me. I own you._

"Edward! Fuck! What is that? Shit-!" Roy's body heat disappeared from his side, and there was a sickening crack and a roaring sound in the background, accompanied by a frantic scrabbling.

_I-I cant open my e-eyes…_

_Then I will._

_I don't want you out._

_Do you have a choice? _

_We're so weak at the moment…_

_No, YOU'RE weak. Im powerful, Im skilled in alchemy, and Im not afraid of the future!_

_You are not me! I am not afraid of what happens to me!_

_Don't hide it, Edward. I see everything…_

Edward's eyes fluttered open, his breathing light and shallow, like he had just woken up from a dream. The room was covered in fire that dancing around the furniture as the shadows of Roy and something else- something _not human_- flickered on the walls.

Sitting up, he could see flames licking at the foot of his bed, the spongy interior of the mattress catching on fire quickly. Roy himself was standing near a smouldering lump of something that sounded like it was crying on the floor, limbs flailing around in a desperate attempt to rid itself from pain.

"Roy!"

Edward!"

"Whats wrong? Where-"

"Chimera!" As soon as the word left the older mans lips, the thing on the floor decided to come back to life with a deafening roar, leaping at Roy as flames engulfed its skin. He swerved quickly, avoiding its cat-like claws, but now he was trapped in a corner, back against a wall.

"F-fou-rr Daaa-ies… mee-eee-t me..eee… fou-rr Daaa-ies…" It spluttered, choking on its own blood as it rolled out of its dog like snout. "Mrrr-yyy… Armorr-yyy!" It lunged again at Roy, meeting the wall instead of its target.

"Four days? Armoury?" Roy coughed, dodging once again as it withered around on the floor, still in flames. The room was now filling with black smoke, obscuring his vision. He could faintly hear sirens in the background.

Some-one must of called the police…

"Shit!" He cursed, leaping over to Ed. "Edward! Were leaving- now!"

Edward nodded weakly, feeling himself get lighter as he was picked up and carried off.

"Roy! We cant leave!" Edward cried, indicating the door way. It was aflame. "We'll be burnt!"

"We're trapped!" Roy stuttered. _Way to go Roy… use your gloves in an enclosed space so we cant escape!_

"And what about that?" Edward yelped, pointing to the beast as it was getting up. Its face was that of a dog, but its limbs were cat like. It had a row of dull feathers poking out its back-fur, and its lizard-like tail lashed around threateningly. Over-all, it looked hideous.

_Hideous, you say? Its obviously part human. You heard it speak, didn't you? Is that what you thought when you first saw Nina?_

_NO!_

Edward leapt from Roy's arms, landing shakily onto the floor with a light _thump_.

"Edward, don't!" Roy yelped, trying to pick him up again.

"Roy!" He yelled over the flames and smoke. "If I don't kill this thing, something worse might happen to it- or us!"

_Scar, Nina, explosion…so much blood…_

_Shit! Don't faze out now!_

He glanced back up at Roy with a pleading look on his face. There was no-way Roy could resist the face.

"But the fire!"

"Douse it!" Edward yelled, dashing to meet his opponent as it soared through the air at him. He already had his blade occupying its arm, a sliver of silver and red glinting through the orange scene. He collided heavily with the chimera, not knowing whether or not he had hit it- his eyes sight was failing him as the smoke grew thicker and his breathing got heavier.

_Shit… I cant see it!_

He glanced around wildly, he eyed Roy as he attempted to douse the flames with a bowel filled with water from the tap, a panicky look on his face.

"Edward! Its no use!" Roy coughed, hand over his chest. Ed knew he was right- he couldn't see the chimera and the smoke was slowly suffocating him. "Hang on!" Then suddenly, he felt light again, wind rushing through his ears as his eyes watered. He could hear the crashing of glass and the roaring of the chimera as the fire and smoke dis-appeared from view and light blinded him.

Then, as quick as lightning, he was colliding with the floor.

"Roy…" He mumbled, opening his eyes to see a crowd of people around him. He was in Roy's arms, surrounded by shattered glass and broken metal. "Roy…?"

Roy was there, alright, but he was pretty beat up- his head was bleeding a little and his chest was heavily bruised. His eyes flickered upwards; the hotel room was ablaze with rich colors of scarlet and amber, flickering against black walls and charred brick. And there, hanging out of the window Roy had just smashed and jumped from, was the chimera, its face in a snarl as fur hung off of its bleeding skin.

"Ed-ward?" Roy croaked, rubbing his head. "You alright?"

"Idiot! Stupid, fucking, idiot!" Edward screamed at him, punching him in the face. "You could have been killed!"

"…"

"But im glad your alright." Edward smiled, hugging Roy tightly.

"Glad to see your enjoying the moment, but we need to go!" Roy stood up shakily, wrapping his arms around Edwards stomach before bursting thought the crowd and firemen as they attempted to quell the fire.

"Woah! Where do you think YOUR going?" One of the men laughed, getting in the way of Roy's path.

"Out of the way, you fool!" He spat, attempting to jump round the rather burly fire-fighter in his way.

"Are you crazy? You leap from a burning building with a kid and you expect not to have injuries?" He smiled, plucking Ed from his arms.

"H-hey! Im not a bag or something! Put me down!" Ed cried, struggling in the mans arms.

"Little one! How cute! Don't worry- your in saf-" He was cut of when a deafening _crack _resounded through the air as blood sprayed through the air. The man, it seemed, had not noticed the chimera, which had pounced from the window and had clamped its jaws around the mans neck, snapping it in two as the mans veins and arteries were ripped out of his neck. Is body fell to the floor, his throat still gurgling with blood that was now flowing onto Edward hair, making him panic as he scooted away from the body.

The chimera itself had landed beside him, its mouth stuffed with flesh that it spat onto the floor.

"Daiiiiieeess…Fffooorr!" It snarled, snapping at a nearby woman who was watching. It mercilessly tried to grab her throat like the other man, but was stopped when steel was rammed through its skull and its body was tossed backwards like paper in the wind.

"Shit!" Edward gasped as the thing flew back at him from behind, aiming for his head. "How can it still be alive?" He ducked under it quickly, kicking upwards with his auto-mail so it flew away from him. He could hear its ribs crack as soon as his boot met its stomach.

"Edward." Roy gulped, limping over to him. "Hurry up and kill it- people are getting scared…" Just like he said, people all around were shaking there heads or fleeing the scene. Some even looked amused.

He dragged himself over to the chimera, watching as it attempted to get up and failed. Instead, it fell over on its back, and decided not to move.

"Im sorry." Edward whispered to it. Quickly, he plunged the blade into the chimeras chest, slicing upwards to its throat so its insides were displayed.

_It… doesn't look anything like Nina on the inside…Nina was human…_

He watched silently as the spark of life in its eyes flickered out as pain over took its body and forced its final breath out of its lungs. It was a pitiful display.

Turning away from it, he could see people gathering around the corpse of the fire-fighter, shaking there heads and pointing at him.

"You! Sir!" Said a man, running over to him. "You responsible for this?"

"No!" He coughed, trying to find Roy amongst the crowd. He wasn't there.

"Well, I am from the police department, and I would like to- wait a second… aren't you the Full-metal alchemist?" He gasped, eyes widening as he licked them to Eds auto-mail then back to his face again. All head suddenly turned to him, words like "murderer" and "demon" being muttered into the air.

Ed couldn't answer back. No-one in the world looked like him.

"Sir!" There was another man running up to him, dragging someone along with them. "This man; It's the Flame alchemist- Roy mustang!" More heads turned to see what was happening.

"B-but I thought he was dead!"

"Sir, there is no mistaking these gloves." The second man snarled, throwing Roy in front of him. The black-haired mans hands where tied up as a tired look surfaced on his face.

"Looks like he got pretty burnt and beat up…" The first man sighed, turning back to Edward whilst pulling out his gun. "Edward Elric- Fullmetal alchemist! You are arrested on the charges of murder and assault."

"No! I-" He didn't get to finish before something heavy hit the back of his head, sending him to the floor. Before he passed out, he could hear the two men talking.

"Hey John; don't they give life service for state Alchemist's accused of assault and murder?"

"No." The first voice sounded. "Its death row for him."

* * *

Sorry for lack of gore as I promised. The first addition to this had too much gore, I would have had to ramp up the rating if I put it on. -Crys-

-Hugs chimera- Awww, ain the cute? He can talk!!!

BTW, Hughes is gonna come back later. You cant get rid of him for too long!

Reviews!!!

Shikuki- That happens to me some times… Glad you like it!

Krows Scared- I am from the now BOILING HOT south! -South west London OO- Thank you for reading! Britain's weather is messed up! Ive always wanted to live in the north, though…

Sepapa-chan- -Takes lemon tea and cupcakes- You know, your food is keeping me alive XD Heh… Al's gonna get owned…

Jenelric- -Takes Envy and shaves of his hair- MMWWWHAAHAAAHA!!!

SwiftFeather-

Ed: OMG! I LOVE YOU!

Roy: YOU DO? REALLY?

Ed: -Is talking to a cactus- I WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU!!!!

Roy: No-body loves me… -Crys-

Dark chocolate Alchemist- My grammar is crap! XD Are you an Elricest fan? I am… -Hits herself on the head-

So, now Ed has to escape the death penalty in four days, or Alphonse will die. This is gonna be fun to write… :D Oh! And Roy's room is on the first floor, so not much hurt. Then again, he hasn't been checked over yet…

Reviews will be used to give WhiteWolfKitsune's favourite pokemon, (yes, I do still play pokemon- Im only 14!!!!) Vaporeon, life. She has one Lv.100 on pokemon pearl… and she has WIFI! XD

WhiteWolfKitsune xxx

PS: Don't worry about Al. He- -Is cut off by rabid chimeras-


	16. Sanity

Slightly short chapter… OO

* * *

Sanity.

What is sanity?

Doe it mean that you are normal? Not classed as insane? Nothing could possibly be as good as that, surely?

Its funny, no, hilarious really, that as you wait to die you suddenly notice people around you in a different light, like you've only just met them for the first time. Sanity control's the way you speak to them, the body language you display to them, and it makes your mind clear so you can think ahead and plan how you're going to act towards them in the future.

But when someone looses their sanity, they loose themselves in the progress. They get lost in the blur of life- and they can either find their own way out, or stay there for-ever. It's their choice.

Sometimes, even if they want to get out, they're too far in for escape.

And this was the case, of Major Edward Elric, the Full-metal alchemist.

It's even more hilarious when you're sharing the death sentence with an innocent person. It cause's a lot of guilt to build on the non-innocent one. To listen to the breathing of your cell mate in the shadows, knowing that as soon as dawn comes you were going to be shot in the back by your own men.

It's sickening- but you can't help but wonder why it's all happening. Even if you do know why your there.

"Are you ok?" The innocence whispered, rattling the chains that bind him.

"Are you?" The guilt answered back, rattling his chains as well, making them clink against the wall.

"Never better!" The first one laughed. It was a nice laugh; sweet and not filled with malice.

"Dad?"

"Yes, son?" The man swelled at the words; he had never been called that before.

"Im sorry." There is more chain-rattling, before it settles. The innocence couldn't really see the guilty one in such poor light, but he was positive he was crying behind the blonde bangs that covered his face.

"Edward, stop saying you're sorry, or I will have to set your butt on fire from all the way over here." Roy smiled softly, only half-scolding him. There was a silence between them, something that said the issue wasn't finished yet.

"Hey Dad, do you remember when I tripped you up in the parade grounds, right after the alchemy test?"

"Yeah…. Everyone was laughing at me!" He sniggered a little at the memory. It was a sunny day- and the test had finished late, since a lot of people wanted to be state-alchemists that year. Edward had appeared, right as Roy was leaving, and had transmuted a brick in front of the man's foot when he was walking so his face could meet the pavement.

"Hey everybody- look at Colonel shit-head!" Edward had laughed, pointing at him. Everyone had turned to see as Roy struggled to get off the floor. It seemed like his foot was actually stuck _underneath_ the obstruction.

"He's too old- he might break his back!" Ed had roared. Everyone laughed, but no-one helped Roy out. Edward picked up on this, and rushed over to help him to his feet.

"Sorry, Colonel! I didn't mean it!" Edward pleaded, looking sad. Secretly, he was still laughing as well. He was only apologising so he didn't get burnt.

"Shut-up, pip-squeak." Roy was generally upset by his antics. He looked like a fool in front of the higher ups!

"PIP-SQUEAK?! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY LITTLE PIP-SQUEAK MOUSE THAT GETS CHASED BY CATS ALL DAY, BUT IS ABLE TO ESCAPE BECAUSE HE CAN FIT THROUGH THE CRACKS IN THE FLOOR?"

"YOU, YOU MIDGET!"

"CARE TO SAY THAT AGAIN, MR-USELESS-IN-THE-RAIN?"

"WHAT!? AT LEAST IM NOT SHORT!"

"SHORT!"

The shouting match had lasted a while, ending when Ed threatened to kill him and was pulled away by some of the surrounding on-lookers. It was fun while it lasted.

"What compelled you to do such a thing?" Roy sniggered, yawning slightly. The prison cell he and Ed shared was awfully un-comfortable.

"I don't know. Maybe I was bored?" Edward yawned as well, shaking his slightly-singed hair out of his face. The police were so mean- they didn't even let him bath first!

"Maybe. I think it has something to do with your _short_ attention span."

"Don't make me flay you, Bastard." Edward growled, trying to leap out of his chains.

"Calm down, Edward. I said nothing of the sort." Roy laughed, closing his eyes sleepily. He felt like his brain was shutting down, and his stomach was eating itself.

"Edward, are you as hungry as I am?"

"No."

"Don't give me that crap, Edward. You know, if something's bothering you, you can tell me."

"Would you really listen?" Edward blinked, looking towards Roy's shadow. He could see the man nod silently. "Well, actually, there's this one thing…"

_Hey, are you going to tell him about me? Because, if you do, I'll kill you._He could see the image of the bloodied wolf in the back of his mind, speaking in his voice.

"Actually, it's more of an illusion than a thing…"

_Oh, Im going to rip off your head and smash it open in front of your 'dad'._

"H-he speaks to me…"

_And then, Im going to snap your body in half._

"And he tells me…"

_It's an ugly world out there; people could get hurt while you're gone._

"To hurt people and to kill my self… because im worthless…"

_Your dead meat._

"This bastard doesn't know what he is talking about!" Roy hissed, grinding his teeth together in anger. "Ignore him." He could see Edward's eye's glowing faintly in the darkness, giving him a feral appearance.

"You cannot ignore destiny." Edward sounded off- his voice was more of growl then a voice at all.

"You're not him." Roy stated, growling as low as Edward was.

"How could you say that, Dad? After all we have been through!" Edwards eyes were still glowing, even more brightly now, and his pupil's had narrowed down to slits.

"Don't fuck with me!" Roy spat, struggling against his chains. "I know what you are!"

"No have now Idea what I am." 'Edward' smiled, teeth glinting.

"Stop it! Get out of his mind! You're destroying him!"

"But if it wasn't for you, none of this would have happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Who informed him as to where my master was? Who sent him to us?" 'Edward' hissed, looking grinning in triumph. The man wasn't answering back.

"Shut-up." Roy sneered quietly, tears now coming to his eyes. He was in fact, going soft. "It is not my fault. That 'reverse psychology' trick doesn't work on me, Demon."

"Ah, how many time's have I been called that?"

"Don't say that. You are not Edward." The obsidian eyed man repeated.

"I have his memories. But that is all going to end soon. As soon as those rifles go off in a few hour's, and as soon as this boy's heart stops, im going to be free to roam the city; and destroy it."

"Bastard!" Roy felt is anger flaring again, fuelling his desire to destroy the beast. How long had he been locked up here? How long till he needed to meet Alphonse?

"Roy? Why are you mad?" A voice sounded suddenly. Edwards's eyes weren't glowing anymore, but they were back to their dead and frail state.

"It's nothing Edward." Roy smiled in a fake way. Such a quick transformation! "I've got an idea, but it might not work." His anger was still there, but it was dying by the second, like snow near a flame. It confused him greatly, but he didn't let it cloud his mind.

"It's worth a try."

"Well, do you think that as soon as they take us outside, you could do a transmutation?"

"Of course. Explain it to me on the way there so I don't hesitate."

"It's nearly time."

"I know."

"Is there anything you want to say before you go out there?"

"I'll see you in hell."

"Likewise."

* * *

Envy stood, surrounded by a huge, intricate circle that had complex letters and symbol's within its many rings. And there, beside him, stood Alphonse, newly fixed. All it took was some random alchemist to fix him up, but of course, the armour looked nothing like what he usually looked like from the waist down. No-one could fix him like Ed could.

The alchemist had had a little 'accident' and had died anyway.

"Two days left! Im so excited!" Envy laughed, patting Al on the shoulder. "All you have to do as activate the array to kill your brother!"

"Yes." Al would NEVER do that in a million years, let alone for Envy. Of course, the homunculus knew nothing on alchemy, so he didn't know what the circle actually did. If it all worked out right, his brother would be back to normal and here would be two sacrifice's instead of one…

All he had to do was play his card's right.

"What; really?" Envy coughed, startled. He knew the armour was lying, but decided to hide it for now.

"I knew brother was never going to get my body back. I don't need him. I can do it myself." Al lied, pretending to sound confident- which he wasn't.

"Wow, your one heck of a brother."

"I know." Alphonse mentally grinned. Envy would believe anything. "I know."

* * *

"March!" The man shouted, leading a blind-folded Ed and Roy onto the grassy field ahead of them.

Sanity.

The true definition of satiny is to be in _complete_ controlof your emotions. The opposite of insanity.

True enough, many sane people have done insane things in there lives, but they have never paid a huge price for it. Never their lives. If they did, they would no longer be 'sane' but 'insane.' Where was the equivalence in that? Life was unfair.

It just depended on luck.

It was truly was a nice day out. The birds singing, the butterfly's flapping around in gentle breezes, the sun rising; a too perfect day for death. But any day was too perfect for death, even in a war. And it was almost heart-breaking to the firing squad to see too legends ready to get shot on a day like this.

"You ready, Edward?"

"As I'll ever be." Faintly, there were blue sparks dancing around his feet in small patterns. No-body noticed.

Quickly, they were blind-folded, their hands tied together, and poked sharply in the back with the muzzle of a gun.

"Take ten pace's!"

The sun was nearly fully out in the open now, the sky tinted with red and orange as blue swept across it. Little wisps of clouds appeared every now and then, adding white to the beautiful scenery around them. But there eyes where blindfolded- there was no view to be seen by the guilty one and the innocent one. They couldn't even see the line of men behind them with loaded guns.

"…Nine, ten." The man counted. "Stop there!" Edward and Roy stopped on command, moving closer to each other.

"Don't be scared, Edward." Roy whispered as he felt Edward shudder a little next to him. "It will be fine."

Edward could feel his heart pounding a mile a minute in his chest, quickening his breathing.

"I believe in you."

"Ready!"

"When this is over, Im going to follow you and Alphonse where-ever you go, so you can't get into trouble."

"Are you sure you'll want to travel with us? We have a habit of being recognised and shot at where ever we go."

"Like I was any safer in central, with Riza and her gun around."

"You really like her, don't you?" Edward couldn't see it, but a blush was appearing on Roy's face.

"Maybe I do. She's waiting for me, after all."

"I know a girl like that, though she might now be waiting for me anymore." Edward mumbled sadly.

"Im sure she still is." Roy laughed quietly.

"Aim!"

"I love you and Alphonse so much; don't ever forget that, ok?" Roy kicked Ed's foot gently. "Don't you ever, Edward. I don't want to ever remind you."

"I love you too." Edward kicked back, tears in his eyes. "I will never forget."

"It means a lot to hear that from you."

"It's just great to hear you. You're the last person I thought I'd die with."

"Ah, same here."

They both closed there eyes at the same time, both taking a deep breath as though their body's were one.

"It truly is a beautiful day today." Edward smiled, leaning into Roy.

"Yes." Roy smiled back. "It is."

"Fire-!"

* * *

EVIL CLIFFY OF DOOM RETURNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MMMMMMMMMMMWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! XD

Sorry for short-ness- its based on Ed's height :D

Ed: GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

OO It's a good thing I remembered to lock him in a cage first… Review time!

FireHeart Alchemist; OMG WE CAN BE BUSINESS PARTERS:D If you do it, I can post links on the chapters to the deviantART manga!!! Yay!!! Go right ahead!!! I SHALL WORSHIP AT YOUR FEET!!! –Steals cookie- Mmmm, I enjoy reviewer's giving me cookies:3 PM me if you can!! D

Sakurako Kobayashi; So many reviews!!! OO XD –I use so many smilies… too many…- Woah- You get Japanese homework? I want Japanese homework! –Crys- Ooo, you're an Envy fan! –Beats to up with a palm tree- I no likey Envy. XD NO! DON'T SAY POOR Winry! SHE DISSERVED IT:D Lol, I get too many "WTF" faces these days… OO

Dark chocolate Alchemist; I shall fend you off with my… -looks around- Cat! And my school pictures:D Lol, Elricest is cu-! –Is beaten up by fangirls- WHAT?!

Bar-Ohki; You comment MADE MY DAY! XD "Out of the frying pan and into the fire!"

Jenelric; Heh, I can help with the poking! –Sit's down next to jenelric- -pokes Envy with a sharpened pencil-

Sepapa-chan; -Steals foodyums- Mmmmm!!! AND tangerines and chocolate milk! YAY!!!! Now I will never go hungry again! –Hugs Sepapa-chan- Now, I must devour my goods. –Looks evil-

Xiia; NO YAOI. XD Heh, though I do like yaoi…

Akita-fallow; Lol, Roy IS as lazy as hell! But im glad you like my portrayal :3 I didn't like Roy to start with, but he grew on me… OO

Swift-feather; CHARIZARD!!!! XD OMG, I am SO stealing that smilie you used: D Its mine now!!! MMMWWAAHAHAH!!!

Reviews will be used to get WhiteWolfKitsune out of bed in the morning- She has school tomorrow!!! ToT That also means limited updating- sorry guys! Im gonna have to post every weekend again…

WhiteWolfKitsune xxx

Ps: Go to this link- http:// i65. photobucket. com/ albums/ h216/ Toboefan123/ image123. jpg (Without the gaps) Lol, I drew a picture of the Gate Wolfy thing!!!


	17. Violation

-Puffpuff- -Pantpant- Sorry I took so long to update! I have school work to do! L But don't worry! Im back now :D

_Changing colors_

"_Ready!"_

"_Aim!"_

"_Fire!"_

Everything moved in slow motion as the triggers of the guns were pressed. As soon as the bullet's charged forward, the ground beneath the shooters crumbled, throwing their aim off and sending the bullets soaring off into the sky, which had not even left their barrels yet. All of this took place in under half a second.

Meanwhile, Edward and Roy had dropped to one knee, feeling the bullets that had escaped their shooters whizzed passed them, off course. Edward then spun round on one knee, feeling for Roy's face as the blindfold obscured it. As soon as he found it, he tore it off, letting the light blind Roy for an instant.

Behind them, the men were crying for help in there three metre hole, firing random shots into the air; they knew there prey was escaping them- unharmed.

"Roy- hurry!" Ed whined, as Roy blinked his coal-colored eyes rapidly. The man swiftly grabbed the boy's blind-fold from behind his back, sniggering slightly as the boy squeaked at the sudden light.

"Now, run!" Roy and Ed leapt to their feet at the exact same time, clumsily breaking into a sprint. Their hands were still tied behind there backs.

"How did you-"

"Do it?" Edward smirked, looking happy with himself. "Its simple- before we were blindfolded I transmuted a hole beneath the place were I knew the executioners would be standing, but left about a quarter of a metre of compacted earth over it so it wouldn't be seen, _and_ so it could support the weight of the shooters."

"A hollow in the ground?"

"Exactly. As soon as the trigger set off the mechanism inside the gun, the shock of the bullet actually firing would crumble the earth and make them fall into the hole I made before the bullet could leave the barrel."

"That was risky. I only wanted you to knock them out… somehow." Roy scolded, trying to hide the confusion on his face. Something didn't add up with Edwards explanation. "How did you know that was even going to work?"

"I didn't. I just guessed what was going to happen."

"Idiot! We could have died!"

"HELLO! We were on death row! You don't get anymore dead than that."

"What-ever. So… Where exactly are we running too?"

Edward skidded to a stop at Roy's words, looking thoughtful.

"Where _are_ we going?"

"Well, I have too mee- um, uh…I mean, I want some _meat! _Yeah, Im hungry!" Laughing nervously, Roy patted his stomach in a childish motion. _Phew, nearly slipped then!_ He regained his normal stance quickly, and rubbed his chin in thought. _There's two days left to burn…_ _Alphonse…_

"Don't worry about him." Edward said quietly, snapping Roy out of his daze. "Im sure he's fine."

"You have a lot of confidence in him." The older man mused, looking down at the boy. How did he know what he was thinking?

"He can manage himself- We were once split up from each other for about a month and he still turned out ok." Edward smiled sweetly, and shuffled around on his feet at the memory. Yes, he was sure Al was ok. He had worried about Al a few days ago, but not anymore- it was like they were _connected_ somehow. Ed thought it had something to do with his blood being Al's blood-seal, and the whole blood-metal bonding thing. Still, he was sure Al was going to return to him in his own time. How many people could hurt an invincible hulk of metal?

_If they knew his secret, everyone._

_Oh god, not you again. Just piss off already!_

_Woah, where did this fighting spirit come from suddenly?_

_Just leave!_

…

_What? Two days?_

_Didn't you know? Their going to get rid of you in two days. A giant transmutation circle will be activated, and you will be destroyed._

_What!? S-stop lying! Roy would NEVER want to get rid of me… would he?_

_Ask him._

"Roy… is it true?" Edward stared up at his father, noticing the worried look that the man had.

"Is what true?" _Damn it, I know that look! He's been talking to that demon bitch again!_

"T-that your going to get rid of me!" Edward whimpered, bristling suddenly. He couldn't be abandoned again- like the first time!

"What? Why would I do that?"

_Because you hate me!_

"Because Im a freak of nature!"

"No your not!" Roy retorted back, his wide eyes looking hurt.

_Release me from these binds._

_As you wish._

Roy watched as black slowly engulfed Edward's hands, a weird presence filling the air. The black sparks grew bigger, forming arches the way alchemy did, but in a more darker form. The straining of the rope could be heard loudly in the air, until a soft _snap_ could be heard and the rope fell limply to the floor.

"Edward?"

"Leave me alone!" Edward hissed and ran, sprinting way faster than Roy could, even without his hands behind his back. Slowly, as he watched the world fly past and Roy's calls to him grow faint in his ears, the rural bit of Central faded into a bleak setting of greys buildings and bustling people, all wanting to get some-where with there lives.

_Where to now?_

_Shut-up, bastard. This is all your fault._

_Hey, no snapping at me. None of this is my fault._

_Wow, you're so casual now. What happened to the blood-thirsty nature?_

_It's not really a wise move to commit murder in broad day-light, is it, Edward? I would have thought a professional like you would have known that-_

"Shut-up!" Edward screamed, earning startled looks from the people around him.

_You know, you are still a wanted criminal. I suggest you hide._

Edward agreed quickly, deciding it would be best if he hid somewhere. Finding himself running yet again, he quickly darted round into an alley, where he stealthily braved a vertical wall and sat atop the roof of the random building.

"Woah, that was pretty awesome…" He mused to himself, peering over the edge at all of the citizens below. He didn't know how on earth he could climb like that, but he liked it. It made him seem cat-like.

He could vaguely see a rather tall figure galloping through the crowd, hands ahead of him as he stopped the public to talk to them. Edward also didn't know how Roy had gotten rid of the rope around his wrists, but it didn't really matter, because the man would have looked stupid running around with his hands behind his back.

_Doesn't he know how dangerous it is to be out in the open like that? People are after his blood._

_I suppose I have to help him…_

_You hold a grudge for long, don't you?_

_As I said- it was YOUR fault!_

"Roy!" Edward squeaked at him, ignoring the voice. Roy spun round to look for the voice, but didn't find the source of it.

"Edward!" Roy called above the background noise, whirling around.

"Dad! Im up here!" Roy looked up quickly to the roof opposite him to find his son waving at him nervously. Roy dashed down the alley way Edward had just gone down noisily and stopped underneath where Edward had climbed up.

"Edward! Come down! You night get hurt!" Roy pleaded. He nearly had a heart attack as he watched Edward leap off the edge off the building and land perfectly on his hands and feet.

"Edward!" Mustang rushed over to his side and hugged him so tightly, Edward thought he would never breathe again.

"Ow! Quit it! It hurts!" Edward yelped, squirming in his arms.

"Edward! I was so worried! First, the black smoke thing with your hands, then your on top of a building, and _then_ you leap off of it and somehow land with so much as a scratch! How!"

"I-I don't really know… It has something to do with him." Edward tensed, referring to the trapped Gate keeper in his mind.

Roy's mind whirred at the current events. Something was not right. He could feel it somehow. He ran back out of the alley, leaving a confused Edward behind, and stalked into a nearby shop.

"I need matches." He hissed quietly, taking them and not bothering to pay. No-one noticed, and he didn't have money anyway. As quickly as he left, he went back to the alleyway, and got out two matches.

"Huh?" Edward said, tilting his head to the side in confusion. He watched as Roy struck one match, and then blew it out. Then, with practiced ease, he used the black bit to trace a transmutation circle onto the wall beside him.

"Roy-"

"Look." Roy then struck the other match near the circle, and watched as it glowed fiery red, and then turned ebony black.

"Edward, I want you to stay here. Don't move, ok?" Roy said urgently, throwing away the matches.

"Why?" Ed sniffed, confused at the display.

"Im going somewhere, and I'll be back soon. Hide yourself." And with that, Roy ran in the opposite direction, heading to one of Central's largest buildings.

And behind him, Ed followed, sticking closely to the shadows. He wasn't going to stand there wile Roy possibly got into danger! And he never got a chance to say sorry for his actions earlier...

_I know where he's heading! Go there, and we will both be destroyed!_

Edward ignored it, continuing to follow Roy as quietly as he could. The chase continued, until Roy arrived at a large, dusty building, which looked as abandoned as it felt. Though looks could always be deceiving.

Ploughing inside, Roy halted in the middle of the factory of gleaming metal and snarled silently, looking for his target. He could feel energy in the air- and despite it being sunny outside, it was cold inside.

"Come out!" Roy called, bracing himself for any attack.

"A bit early, aren't we?" a lazy voice drawled, as purple eyes appeared and the clanking of armour was heard.

"Envy!"

"Roy?"

"Alphonse!"

"Roy!"

Edward suddenly burst onto the scene, skidding to a halt beside his father.

"Al! Is that you?"

"Ed!

"Envy?"

"Edward!"

_It's all falling into place! Run!_

"Edward! I told you not to follow me!" Roy hissed at him, though still keeping his eyes on the homunculus before him. Surrounded by the glinting of guns and other weapons, he didn't really feel safe at all.

Slowly, he turned his gaze downwards to the circle beneath his feet- it was _huge._ And in an odd way, beautiful, with its elegant curves and swirls that covered it in mystery.

"Alphonse! Are you ok?" Edward spat, ready to leap forward at the homunculus.

"Yes, brother!" Al squeaked back, standing at Envy's side. "Roy! You're too early!"

"Sorry, Al. I couldn't wait any longer- something's wrong with the alchemy." Edward was about to make a remark at that comment, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

"So?" Envy snapped, wanting to make himself known. "Does all this matter at this precise moment, _Colonel?_"

Roy growled, gritting his teeth together. "I knew you would be here with Alphonse."

"And how, may I ask, did you know?" Envy purred, inspecting his finger nails casually.

"Shut-up! Alphonse, now!" Al suddenly darted away from Envy as fast as he could, clapping his hands together and placing them onto the circle. There was a blinding light that faded to black, one that seemed to fill the whole armoury, and the crackling of alchemy could be heard over the screams of Edward as all of them disappeared in an instant, leaving only a circle behind.

_Roy... Im afraid._

Edward was in front of the gate, and everyone else was gone. In front of him, he could see the Gate-keeper, staring at him with its many eyes.

_Let me._ It spoke, getting to its feet and launching itself in the air. _Let me free!_

* * *

Russel smiled to himself, admiring the plant he had been looking after for a while now. It was time to see if his research had gotten him anywhere.

Preparing himself, he activated the circle on the plants pot, and green light filled the area.

"Fantastic! It work-…" Russel trailed off, watching as the alchemic light faded suddenly to a rich black, and then stopped. The plant was dead. "What?"

* * *

Psiren laughed heartily as she watched the policemen yet again run into a dead-end. 

"Hey! Come back!" he detective roared at her, shaking his fists. "Come down here and fight!"

"Not a chance." She whispered, activating the circle on her chest so she could slide down off the roof. The light flared, but halfway through the transmutation, it became black and her escape route crumbled. "Huh?" she blinked, confused. "What happened there?"

* * *

Tucker grinned insanely, watching as the live animals before him squealed in fright as they were thrown into the tank of water. 

"Soon, Nina, soon…" he whispered, stroking the lifeless form in his arms. Clapping his hands together, he touched the surface of the tank, and laughed as energy reared all around him. Then, for no reason at all, it turned coal-black, and stopped, leaving the animals in the tank only half-formed.

"What?" He cried, peering at his creations. "What's wrong with my alchemy?"

* * *

MMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAHHHH!!! I HAVE DESTROYED ALCHEMY!!!

Heh, im so evil :p

Reviews! As I usually say, I cant answer all of them; sorry! They take up pages ToT

Ayumi Elric: OMG, you have to teach me Amestrian! XD I love cliff-hangers… there awesome! (But not all the time!)

Cold-Foxx: That happens to me a lot XD but Im glad you like it:D I have a lot of work to do recently…

EdwardElricsFan4Ever: Lol! Im taller than Ed in the series! XD But don't worry- everyone grows taller at some point. :D

SwiftFeather: WRITE MORE STORIES, OR THE GATE KEEPER WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND EAT YOUR BRAIN. :D

Xiia: -spits out coffee- EDWIN!!!???!!! Its one sided, on Winry's side. Im not an Edwin fan! (More like hater XD)

Sepapa-chan: -Bites sandwich- Oh no! Its Envy flavoured! –Destroys it- XD Al is the WORST LIAR EVER. :D Have fun at school! I have too much homework… -Crys-

Fireheart Alchemist: PM's to me are not working at the moment (god knows why) so review me the link when your finished! I MUST SEE THE MANGA!!!! Hurry, my friend, or I shall die of excitement XD

Dark Chocolate Alchemist: I shall fend off your sock with my…my… -looks around- CANDLE OF DOOM!!!!!

Sorry if your not here! I still love you!

WhiteWolfKitsune xxx

PS: Sorry I haven't been updating! School is slowly killing my urge to write… Oh, and reviews will be used to make me happy :D And sorry its so short!!!


	18. A turning tide

_Changing colors_

Roy found himself surrounded by a sea of yellow almost instantly, his vision blurred and his head aching. Checking that his body was still intact, he pushed himself off the floor (which looked the same as everything else) and shivered.

Where the hell _was_ he?

Oh, right… The gate.

Then where was it?

"Edward! Alphonse!" He called, glancing around. Nothing but yellow as far as the eye could see. He called again, only to hear his own voice echoing in his ears.

"Great…" He mumbled, ruffling his hair. "Better get walking."

* * *

Edward watched as the Gatekeeper landed lightly in front of him, jaws snapping intently but never really touching him.

_What?_ It howled, continuing to snap. _I-I cant touch you!_

Ed shivered at its tone and took a step backwards in fear.

"Let you free?" Edward echoed at it, as it stopped clawing at the air and sat on the floor. Even when it was sitting, it was still bigger than him by about 2 metres.

_They lured you here to destroy me._

"And Im guessing it didn't work?"

_You're a genius._

It made a noise that sounded somewhat like a sigh and rested its head upon its front paws like a dog would, whining slightly.

_Kill me._

"What?"

_I said kill me. _

"…No."

_You don't understand; the longer I stay with you, the more like you I become. I want to kill! I was created for it- but your influence is changing me, and I cant… this, this suffering, is a thousand times worse than death. Kill me now if you have any mercy._

Edward felt sympathy inside him for the thing as it closed its eyes, all of them, and waited for Edward to do something. He didn't.

_What?_

"Im going to change you. If you stay with me long enough, you might become something else, and stop causing pain." Edward said in a determined voice.

_This is the behaviour I was talking about._ It snarled, opening the two main eyes on its face. _A leopard cannot change its spots, nor does it want to._

"But a chameleon can change its colors."

_If you haven't noticed, I am not a chameleon, and I do not want to become like you._

"What's wrong with acting good for once?"

_This is cruel._

"Im not letting you go so you can kill more people. Its final." Edward sat cross-legged on the ground in front of it, folding his arms across its chest. The Gate-keeper lifted its head to stare at Edward intently, a smile playing on its muzzle.

_Though, you realise, every-time you loose control of your emotions, I'll gain control of you._

"Then I will have to try hard to keep myself in check."

_What-ever._ It still sounded grumpy, but at least it wasn't trying to kill him anymore. Edward resisted the urge to laugh at it as it glared at him. Was that a _pout_ on its face?

"I've noticed," Edward started, averting his eyes. "You kind of sound like me." It did, though its voice was lower and throatier than his. "Just a few days ago, I thought I had an 'evil twin' of some sort talking to me, but it was you all along, using my voice."

_It was you doing all the crime's, not me. My voice is of no concern._

"Huh?"

_If you think about it, all I did was tell you what to do, and you done it. And you only listened to me when your emotions where extreme._

"I really am responsible for all of this?"

_So am I._

"Stop playing around with me-!" Edward's sentence was cut off as blood erupted from his mouth, obscuring his words. Looking down, he saw the Gate-keepers jaws clamped around his middle, a smile on its face. He was easily lifted off the ground by the beast and hurled into the side of the Gate, which did nothing.

_You lost control of your emotions._ He heard the sneaky voice fill his ears, a happy undertone peaking through the words. _Be careful._

Edward coughed up more blood before placing his arms round his stomach, where he was bleeding openly. He could feel the warmth leaking through his fingers causing him to gasp in pain at the severity of it.

"I c-cant die here!" Edward gurgled, gritting his teeth together.

_You wont._

The warmth stopped, and the pain ceased. Glancing down nervously, he bit his lip in surprise as the puncture wounds _disappeared._

"What the hell!" Gasping, he run a hand over his stomach. Nope, not there. Though the holes in his clothes where still there.

_You cant die here, unless the boss says so._ It flicked its tail at the Gate, who was unusually silent. _And it cant touch you as long as I am here, only heal you. But, back in your world, when this happens you wont be so lucky._

Edward shuddered at the tone that was being used, and sat back down.

What fun.

* * *

"How long does this place go on for?" Roy whined, as he collapsed on the floor. He'd been walking for god knows how long, but no matter how far he went, it was still yellow.

It was starting to drive him crazy.

"Alphonse… Edward…" He called again for the millionth time, his voice hurting. _Their not here…_ It was scary, really. What if he was stuck here? What if he never saw Edward or Alphonse again? He'd slowly starve to death in this place, surrounded by the haunting yellow that was pasted everywhere…

Crying.

There was _crying. _

It sounded like something being burnt alive- and he knew what that sounded like. He cocked his head slightly and cast his gaze around, a curious look on his face. Getting to his feet again, he sprinted forward towards the noise, where he could see a dot in the horizon. He ran faster, feeling blood pounding in his ears as he approached the seemingly naked figure.

"Are you alr-" his breath halted in his throat as he found himself lost in impossibly deep auburn eyes, tinged with grey and lined with tears. The figure had sandy blonde hair, long enough to cover his, as it clearly was, own body, and his ribs were painfully clear. On his chest, there was a circle large enough to cover the area over his heart, drawn in what looked like blood.

"Al…" Roy breathed, instantly dropping to one knee and taking off his shirt before placing it on Al's shivering body, leaving him with a bare chest.

Al didn't do anything but close his eyes, his breathing rapid and his heart beat fast. Something was wrong. He could feel himself falling, deeper and deeper until it was cold and the ground was hard and gritty. He could smell dust and ammunition, and could feel the cold breeze envelope him in its icy wake, making goose-bumps appear on his skin. It was all new to him, and everything was happening so fast.

_He could feel again._

He suddenly heard a soft _umpf_ sound next to him, and he glanced silently at Roy who was rubbing his head painfully hard.

"What?" he heard the man cry. "We just fell through the fucking floor, and now were back in central? It doesn't make sense!" Al blinked un-easily and opened his moth to say something, but nothing came out except a whine.

"Al! Al, your normal! But how- no, yes, AH!" Roy squeaked in excitement, hugging him tightly. He never got to see Alphonse in his normal body all them years ago, since he had arrived late, and Al had already been in armour. But now he had seen him… god, he looked so much like Edward! And the yellow! It was gone!

Alphonse didn't share the enthusiasm, as his whole body ached. Where was Edward? Was he still at the gate? He didn't want to answer these questions in his mind, as he feared the answers. Instead, he leaned into Roy's warmth and shivered.

He was real.

The hunt was over.

* * *

Edward was well and truly bored. There's only so long you can be entertained at the Gate, when you're not being ripped apart. His head hurt because of the constant yellow surroundings, and the constant staring by the Wolf was scaring him slightly.

It was like some pervert looking for their next victim…

Behind it, the Gate loomed threateningly, hinge's creaking every-now and then. The lack of movement from that made him even more scared. Where were the black arms and the gate baby things that took parts of your body?

"Why am I still here?" He moaned suddenly, feeling stressed. He sighed heavily, and turned his amber eyes onto his 'companion.'

_Don't ask me. _

"You're not really helping." Edward hissed at it, sighing again. "I want to see Roy and Al."

_What? The Tin-can and your 'Dad'? You'll be lucky if their even alive._

"He's not a 'Tin-can', he's my brother, you bastard. And my father will find me."

_Uh-huh._

Snorting, he rested his head in his hands. This was annoying.

And then he was _falling._

He could feel it; the wind was rushing through his hair, and his eyes were watering as the yellow sped out of his vision and was immediately replaced by black. The air grew thick and heavy with dirt, and as he landed, the ground turned to grit. It was so totally random, he felt like having a heart attack. In fact, judging by the way his heart was racing, he was positive he was going to have one.

_Remember._The word echoed in his head. _You're the one who decided to keep me here._

Opening his eyes, he could see nothing but the darkness, and he could feel someone's breath tickling his ear on one-side. Ashes. He'd defiantly smelt that scent before.

"Roy." He sniffed, burying his head further into his father's chest.

"The one and only." Roy smiled, body buzzing with nervous energy. "Edward, I have someone here for you." Roy let go of his son and pointed to his other son, who stilled looked puzzled. Edwards heart stopped flat out in his chest for a second, and then started with such force it hurt. He could already feel the tears springing to his eyes, and could see the tears in his brothers eyes.

_He can finally cry._

"A-Alphonse? I-is that y-you?" Edward stuttered, throat swelling up. He uneasily crawled over to his brother's side, and tenderly hugged him with shaky arms. Alphonse returned this, leaning his head on his brother's shoulder. He could feel Edward's warmth again! It was breath-taking. He felt complete for the first time in ages. He had a father, and his brother, _and_ his body!

"Alphonse… how? What about equivalent exchange?" Edward whispered him. Alphonse opened his mouth yet again, but nothing came out.

You can't speak?" Roy queried, looking anxious. Alphonse nodded his head.

"Its because he hasn't used his vocal cords in a while, and he's forgotten. Were going to have to teach him all over again!" Edward said excitedly, hardly staying still. He was so happy! Its over! All the searching! It's finished!

"Al, we didn't even need the stone!" Edward squeaked, tears in his eyes again. Al grinned happily and nodded rapidly again, looking as happy as Edward. Then suddenly, he looked serious. He slowly swiped his hands over his head and dragged them down to his waist.

"Octopus?" Roy blinked, confused. Alphonse shook his head and tried again. He made the gesture again, pointing to his chest.

"Boobs?" Roy tried again, gaining a hit on the head by Edward.

"Envy? Do you mean Envy?" Ed tried, watching as his brother nodded. "He's the only thing I can think of with a hairstyle like that…"

"Where did Envy go, by the way?" Roy asked, breaking Eds train of thoughts. He glanced around, but the homunculus was no-where in sight.

"I think the Gate took him." Edward said slowly, silently happy.

"Probably. Does that mean it worked?" Roy turned onto Edward, looking into his startled eyes. Nothing but pure gold. That was how it should be, not glowing or anything.

Edward blinked slowly, not acknowledging the question.

"Is it gone? You know, the voice?"

"Oh! Yes! That! The Gate took it!" Edward lied, laughing. Roy smiled, happy to see his son so happy. But legally, Edward wasn't his son… maybe he should get adoption papers…

"This is great! We can start again and forget all this. We can be like a family! And you never know what might happen with me and Riza…" He blushed suddenly, looking at the grinning boy's. "Lets go."

Al made to stand up, but ended up back on the floor. Roy chuckled softly, and picked him up gently. The boy blushed, and hid his face in Roy's chest.

Edward smiled proudly at the scene.

_It's wonderful._

He expected there to be some sort of answer for the Wolf, but there wasn't.

_That's odd… HELLO?_

_What?!_A snappy voice answered, sounding pissed. He closed his eyes, and instantly saw the Gate-keeper, looking… _different._ It only hand four legs now, and its fur was all fluffed up and rather cat like. Two golden eyes glared angrily at him, and two smaller looking horns poked out of its fur. It was currently curled up into a ball, looking rather much like a kitten then a blood-thirsty monster.

_Ok, what the HELL happened to you!_

_This is your doing! Im only what you imagine me as! If you stop thinking lovey-dovey thoughts I can get back to my normal self!_It spat, curling back into a ball.

_Wait- you were sleeping? Since when did you do this?_

_Your tired, so Im tired. The difference is, Im letting myself sleep, while you continue to stay awake!_

_This doesn't explain why your all fluffy now._

_Our emotions are reflecting off each other- Your happy, so im happy looking. You couldn't even see me until just a few days ago. As I said an hour ago, the longer we stay together, the more… close… we become. But if you just let me go, we don't have to see each-other ever-_

_That's not going to work. By the time im finished with you, you wont be evil anymore. _

_Lets see if you don't die before that happens._

Edward blinked, and he was back at Roy's side as him and Alphonse chatted together. They didn't know where they were going, but he was sure they'd have fun getting there.

Finally, things were looking up for him.

For now.

* * *

"Silence!" a man roared over the chattering of the board, slamming his fist onto the table. "Amestris has no alchemy anymore!" There was more shouting, screaming, and murmuring to be heard from the representatives of the other countries.

"Well." One voice sounded above everyone else's, causing the noise to cease. "Looks like your country is defenceless." The man was clearly Drachman, made clear by his brown uniform and his accent. "Expect your whole country to be under attack."

"Drachma! We had a peace contract! These border skirmishes mean nothing!" An Amestris man said.

"I don't care- were now officially at war." There was more murmuring. The Amestrian man stood and stormed out of the room, a group of people following him.

"Sir?"

"Get the whole army to cover the north, and leave some for Central. Call all State-alchemists to action- _all of them._" The man snarled, heading for his car.

"Sir, even the Flame and Full-metal Alchemist? They probably can't do alchemy anymore-"

"Them two? Aren't they dead?"

"No, sir. They escaped death row-"

"Find them, and enrol them, even if they cant do alchemy. They're still soldiers, after all." The man slammed the door closed on his car and drove off, back to Central.

State-alchemists that cant do alchemy?

How absurd.

* * *

_This is where WhiteWolfKitsune explains stuff! _:3

Ok, so the whole transmutation didn't work. Edward still has Mr.Wolf in his mind, though its starting to go good, due to being under Edwards influence and soul for too long.

Though, the price for that is, when ever Edward cant control his emotions, the Gatekeeper will take control of Edwards body. This is all because Ed is determined to set him straight, as he knows that if he gets rid of his lupine friend, there will be trouble for the whole world.

Now, depending on how Edward feels, the Gatekeeper will look different. You already know the blood-streaked monster it actually is, but you know what happy Gatekeeper looks like! (Awww, how cute!) He doesn't always necessarily feel what Edward does, but sometimes he cant help it.

In regards to Alphonse's body, which has always been stuck at the Gate, equivalent exchange did take place.

Its just a matter of finding out who paid.

Envy could not have died at the Gate, as we already know the Transmutation didn't work.

And regarding the alchemy: as long as the Gatekeeper lives, the Gate wont work properly, and wont accept souls from the other worlds. Drachma is going to use this to start a war with Amestris, because without Alchemy, there powerless. The Gate was working properly until Edward decided to be a hero and keep the darn thing in his head.

And for all of you who don't think Edwards not going to be a murdering emo anymore, here is an equation for you to solve:

One teenager (plus) bad childhood (plus) hormone fuelled mood-swings (equals) (?)

You work it out XD

_End explanation. _

OMFGOMFGOMFG OVER 200 REVIEWS!!!! THANK YOU:

E.Mahiru, SwiftFeather, Hisana333, Ara Mei, I'll Wait For Him, Bar-Ohki, Sepapa-chan, Shadow Alchemist, EdElricRules, FireHeart Alcehmist, Shikuki, Dark-chocolate Alchemist, AkitaFallow, EdwardElricsFan4Ever, jenelric, darklink231, BakuraNeko, EmoNekoNinja, Ayumi Elric, Hell Is Waiting For Me, Cold-Foxx, and xiia!!!

(Whew, a lot of names XD) I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND I COMMAND ALL OF YOU TO GO TO THIS PAGE: 

http:// clearnightskies. deviantart. com/art/ Changing-Colors- Title-Page- 64472053

(With no gaps)

IT'S THE TITLE PAGE TO THE CHANGING COLORS MANGA!!!!! YOU MUST GO ONLINE AND COMMENT ON FIREHEART ALCHEMISTS WORK!!!!!!!!!! NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!

Thank-you, Fireheart, for drawing me this! Its beautiful! Divine! Its inspiring! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -hugs- I cant wait for more! Take as long as you like though; its your manga :3

Reviews will be used this week to help WhiteWolfKitsune do her homework… its to hard! L Though, I can always cheat… :D

Kitsune-san xxx (or kun XD)


	19. Bliss and Black Horses

This chapter is dedicated to:

EdElricRules: For answering the maths question in the last chapter with the answer "Murdering Emo Edward!" XD

And to:

I'll wait for him, for asking how the Gate Transmutation was preformed, when alchemy doesn't work! All shall be explained in this chapter:

THIS STORY IS NOT YAOI!!!!!! (There's BROTHERLY FLUFF coming up:3)

_Changing colors_

It was bliss. Just him, his brother, and his "father", all together. All they could do was hide, walk, walk some more, hide, then sleep where ever they could find somewhere to sleep. It didn't really matter where they were, because they had each-other as company.

Now, seven days after Drachma declared war, all cities were riddled with military soldiers, _especially_ Central, and half the population of men were missing. Roy couldn't help but wonder where Riza and the rest of his squad was.

The man had a sun visa on his head to protect his identity a little, and Edward's hair was cut shorter at the back and put into a loose ponytail to make him look somewhat different. After all, they were still on the run from the military.

Life was hard- stealing to eat, living on the run, trying to teach Al to speak (though he still couldn't utter a word) and above all else, trying to stay alive. They had no luggage what so ever. They didn't even dream of trying to leave Central- anyone leaving the capital was filed and checked for an ID, which none of the trio had at the moment. Though, yet again, it really didn't matter where they were, because they were still the same people. They could be themselves. It was bliss.

It _was_ bliss, _until_ they discovered that _fucking_ poster.

"'All state alchemists to report to duty?' That's stupid! Don't they realise the alchemy has gone?" a man said to the trio as they blinked at him. The poster itself was grand. It had a royal blue and emerald green back-drop with the military insignia emblazed on it, complete with tassels that floated softly in the wind. "This stupid country has gone downhill." They watched silently as he trundled off into the crowd, looking infuriated.

"Edward," Roy started, shifting Al around in his arms. The bronze-eyed boy was now clad in a far too big shirt (which was Roy's) and a random pair of pants they had obtained some-how. "You don't think-"

"Yup." Edward finished, reading the small print. "Even the ones that aren't state alchemists anymore are being called. Which means were going to be hunted down and forced to war." He gazed up at Roy to find the man looking scared. His pupils flickered back and forth wildly, and his body was shaking so much, it was scaring Al.

"Roy? Roy!" Edward yelled at him, making him jump.

"… Flash-back..." He breathed, still looking slightly shaken. Edward looked at him with sympathy swirling in his amber eyes.

"Roy… let's give our-selves in this time."

Roy nearly chocked on his own saliva.

"What? Are you mad?"

"No, Roy, Im not. Think about it; even if we do continue to avoid the military, we can't run forever. I'd rather go to war then live like this! Im sick of hiding!" Edward growled, letting out a long sigh. "I want to go to war. Plus, If we don't turn our-selves in and they find us, they might use Al as a hostage to bribe us… And I cant have that."

"But who will look after Al if we do go? He's weak at the moment!" Roy pleaded at him, holding Alphonse protectively. He could handle war again, but he knew the experience would break Edward after a while. He was too young.

_Do you have any ideas?_ Edward asked his new-found 'friend.'

_... Nope. He's pretty much useless. _It was back in is bloodied form, looking as happy as ever with itself.

_Shut-up, bastard. _

"Well…. still…" Edward had no comeback. He didn't want to run anymore, as it seemed cowardly and un-manly. But, even if he did go to war, Al would have no-body, and he didn't want that at all…

"Ed…. Just think about it for a while." Roy sighed, placing a hand on his face. They were going to have to go to war eventually, but they could at least try to post-pone it for a little while. "But for now, let's find somewhere to go. It's going to be dark soon." He let a gentle smile worm onto his face and hugged the still-mute Alphonse harder to show he hadn't forgotten about the boy. Al closed his eyes happily and enjoyed the warmth.

Edward felt somewhat jealous…

"Where are we going, dad?" Edward asked, tugging on Mustang's sleeve.

"I know a pretty good inn where I used to drink with Mae's, but I don't know whether or not children will be allowed." Roy stated, fixing his hat. "It's worth a try, though. I know the owner, so if any military people try to find us there, he'll protect us." Roy grinned at Edward, causing the boy to smile back. It was infectious.

"Let's go."

* * *

"'The Black Horse'? Isn't that a bit of a coincidence?" Edward thought aloud, staring at the sign that had a huge, obsidian-colored mustang galloping around on a grassy plain. "Looks posh." 

"It's just a front." Roy smiled. "It's really just an average inn that has a weird name."

Edward slowly pushed open the door, and poked his head inside the room. It was musky. It was plainly obvious you were able to smoke here, as Ed doubted the air could get any thicker. Faintly, he could make out the silhouettes of other people, drinking away there misery.

"You! Get out!" A voice roared from somewhere, making him jump. It was a tall, tanned man wearing big, black sun-glasses with short, messy brown hair that was streaked with blonde. He looked about Roy's age. "Your not an old enough!"

"Cool it, Gar." Roy laughed, trying to open the door while his arms where preoccupied with Al. "He's with me."

"Mustang? Boy, it's been a long time since you've walked in here. You got kids now?" Gar said, looking happy for some reason. He shakily trudged over to the black haired man and slowly opened the door for him so he could get in.

"Yes, it appears I have." Roy beamed back, glad to see his friend still working in the inn. "Alphonse, Edward, meet Gar."

"'Tis a pleasure to meet you." Gar grinned, reaching for both Alphonse's and Edward's hands. "Name's Gar, as you've heard. It's short for Garin."

Alphonse nodded his head happily and shook the big mans hand as hard as he could in his state. Edward, on the other hand, shook the man's hand carefully, trying to glimpse his eyes behind his glasses. Something was wrong.

"You've got a smart one here, Mustang." Gar laughed, noticing the look on Ed's face. Slowly, he took off his glasses. Edward nearly fell over in shock.

His eyes were blood red crimson, fading to a deep purple looking color nearing the pupil and finally ending in a sort of blue. His gaze was un-focused and hazy, never staying in one place long enough. Edward couldn't help but stare along with his brother, who had the same look on his face.

"Un-usual eyes… You're blind?" Edward whispered, still openly staring.

"No, not quite." Gar snickered, pointing to his face. "Only partially. I can see you, but not your features. That's how I knew you was a child; you're a pretty small fella." Roy waited for and outburst by Edward, but there was none. The boy looked interested in what Gar had to say.

"And I can only see certain colors as well, so im partially color-blind." Garin put his glasses back on, and smiled warmly. "This is what happens when you mix races together."

"Part Amestrian, part Ishbalan." Roy said to Al, who was looking up at him with a question on his face. "His DNA is all messed up. It's like a cat and a dog-"

"Spare the details, Roy!" Gar laughed, patting him on the back.

Edward still looked un-easy. Something… felt strange. There was something in the air that Ed didn't like, but he didn't know what it was.

"Gar, you don't mind if we hang here for a while? Were hiding from the milli-"

"They've already been here looking for you." Garin whispered, beckoning them closer. "There keeping an eye on you usual hang-out's, Roy."

"Shit…" Roy trailed off, feeling Alphonse shiver. "We don't have no-where else to go!"

"I can't kick you out now that your back. I'll hide you."

"Really?"

"Get upstairs, you lousy drunk." Gar laughed again, ruffling Roy's hair and giving a key to Edward.

"Thank-you, Garin. If you ever need anything, just ask." Roy beamed, heading out the main room. After saying good-bye to Garin, they proceeded to climb the stairs in silence. They went up to door number '25', their room number, and stumbled inside, clearly exhausted by the trip.

It was a simple room, with nothing but a double bed, a sofa, and a desk. There was a bathroom extension, with a shower, a toilet, and a sink.

"Well. Look's like im sleeping on the couch." Roy announced, walking to the bed and placing Alphonse on it. "Im taking a shower. Are you guys going to sleep?" Both Alphonse and Edward nodded. Roy nodded back in acknowledgement and pulled off the top from Al's head so he was only dressed in his trousers. "Look's like im going to have to go shopping too…" Roy trailed off, kissing Al on the head. He then turned and kissed Edward on the head, finding him already stripped down to his boxers and sat next to his brother in bed with wide eyes.

"Edward, what's wrong?" Roy sighed, watching as Edwards eyes got a little wider.

"Nothing!" Edward squeaked, holding his hands up. He felt weird…

Roy rolled his eyes dramatically and headed towards the bath-room, flicking the lights off as he went. "G'night." He whispered before locking the bathroom door. After a while the sound of running water could be heard.

Alphonse sat in the dark, looking at the shadow of his brother. Something was wrong with him, he could feel it. Shuffling weakly over to Edward, he put his arms around Ed's waist and dragged him down with him, so they were lying down yet facing each-other.

"Huh?" Edward whispered, feeling his brother get closer to him still. "Are you cold?" Alphonse shook his head and sighed, leaning into his brother's chest. He missed this _so much. _It was tough, living in that empty shell for that long, and not being able to appreciate other humans. And the things Edward had said to him all that time ago, about him not really being here… it had mentally hurt him. And now, even in his own body, it still hurt him, but this time the pain was physical. He didn't know why, but he _ached_, and even curled up beside the person he loved more than anything else in the world, he still hurt.

How cruel.

"Alphonse, what's wrong?" Edward flinched, feeling his chest get wet with Al's tears as he whimpered silently. Al just shook his head and continued on crying quietly. Faintly, in the little light there was, he could see the blood-seal on Al's chest, looking the same as it always did. It was like a permanent tattoo. They had given Alphonse a bath once, and it hadn't washed off at all. Edward wondered why it was still there in the first place: was it there for a reason?

"Im sorry, Al." Edward murmured to the crying boy at his side. "It was too early; it wasn't meant to happen that way." Alphonse slowly looked upwards, into the angry eyes of his brother.

He could see something…

Al watched as the anger disappeared into un-easiness, followed by confusion. Edward noticed the staring, and put a fake smile onto his face.

"Don't worry about me, Al. Get some sleep." Edward whispered, kissing his baby brother on the head like Roy had done. Alphonse nodded slowly, and lowered his head, being lulled to sleep by the slow rhythm of Edward's heart-beat and the sound of his breathing.

_Something's not right .Cant you feel it?_

_Yes. Something's wrong with some-one._

_Some-one?_

_Yes, some-one. _He tried to imagine the wolf, but instead just saw darkness. _Some-ones gone._

_Who's gone? You mean died?_

_I don't know who. It must be someone linked to you somehow…_

_Linked to me-_

_It's the woman._ There was suddenly a weird hissing sound, and the Gate-keeper appeared, fur along its back raised. _The black-haired woman who tried to hurt you._

_Izumi? You mean her? What has happened to her? _

_The Gate has got her… Its out of my control… _

_Izumi! _Edward called inwardly, expecting an answer. There was none.

_She'll be released eventually, but it doesn't mean she will be released in one piece._

_How! Why is she there!_

_Alchemy. _

Edward snapped back to reality, panting and gasping for breath. Beside him, Al was asleep, seemingly un-affected by all the noise the blonde was making. Edward wasted no time in clapping his hands, and watching intently as black engulfed him, taking him right in front of the monster that was the Gate. He could see Izumi being dragged in, millions of hands gripping onto her.

"Izumi!" Edward cried, running over to her with speed. He watched as she reached out for him, her screams muffled by the hands. His mind flashed back to Al. He was screaming too- crying out 'brother! Help me!' and stuff. It hurt to think of that moment, and it hurt even more to think that someone else was going to fall victim to the Gate like he had. It was truly a monster of destruction, there just to kill for the right reasons, yet help for the wrong ones.

This is what it was like the first time.

Just a millimetre away…

Yes, exactly like the first time…

She was too far in. She disappeared into the darkness inside the Gate as the doors closed slowly, leaving Edward to try and bang down the doors with his whole body.

"No! Give her back! He wailed, still ramming himself against the doors. Tears had started to run down his cheeks. "Give her back!"

_She's gone._ The Gate-keeper said, appearing next to him with a forlorn look on its face. It was back in the fluffy-looking state. Sighing, it leant down and caught Edward it its jaws, picking him up gently and walking off with him, trying to do as little harm to the boys body as possible.

"H-hey! Put me down!" Edward cried, feeling small. "I need to get her back!"

_You can't. No-one can._ The wolf said in a gentle voice, leaping into the air and then falling through the floor, Edward still in his mouth. They landed softly in the inn room, where the Gate-keeper let Edward go and sat on the floor.

"You can't stay here! If Mustang saw you, he'd-"

_Only you can see me. Now, clap your hands._ The wolf said, keeping its big, amber eyes on him. Edward shakily did as he was told, watching in amazement as his trade-mark blade sprouted from his auto-mail.

"I thought- I mean- what?" Edward gasped, inspecting it. "Alchemy works… Izumi…"

_Alchemy only works for you I suppose._

"Why! Tell me why!" Edward pleaded, sounding desperate.

… The Gates diverting all alchemic energy to you, and taking it from everyone else.

"But Izumi-"

_-Was affected by my master's alchemy, so the Gate took her as sacrifice for you using alchemy again. Her life for your powers. Equivalency._

Edward dropped to the floor, causing Alphonse to jolt awake and look around for his brother, who was in the middle of his room by himself. The sound of the shower stopped suddenly. Why was Edward on the floor?

"I heard something- Edward?" Roy blinked, appearing in his fire-red boxers. Edward turned and looked at him slowly, trying to blink away the tears that were gathering in his eyes.

"She's gone, Roy, and I couldn't even save her."

"What?" Roy said softly, kneeling beside the boy.

"You… you wouldn't understand…"

_Izumi…_

Forgive me.

* * *

And so, the evilness continues! Forget about Gar's eyes; no-one could have that eye color. But, this is my imagination, and I say his eyes can be that color! XD Plus, I liked the whole mixed race thing! 

Oh, and isn't the Gate-keeper cute! Look how fluffy it is!

ITS TIME FOR ANOTHER EXPLANATION!!!!! XD

The gate is diverting all alchemic power to Edward because the Gate-keeper Is with him, which means no-one else has alchemy. The reason why the Gate alchemy worked, is because Roy and Ed where standing on the circle already, and Al literally just used Edward as an alchemic reserve, leeching off his power to activate the array. If Edward WASN'T standing on the array, this wouldn't have worked, as there would be no power. Think of a battery-powered toy. Without the battery, it wouldn't work. Edwards the battery. The transmutation circle is the toy. Al is the ON/OFF switch. Make sense?

Edward's alchemy is black because its coming straight from the gate, and its not personalised to suit him since he's basically stealing everyone else's. :D

The Gate could have sacrificed anybody, but it chose Izumi because she can not only do alchemy with-out a circle, but Garser used his alchemy on her.

Izumi is a sacrifice- she might live or die. It depends on me. :D

End explanation.

WOAH, LOOK HOW MANY REVIEWS I GOT!!!! YAYYY! 

SwiftFeather: Don't hit WhiteWolfKitsune! She has a gun… or maybe she doesn't… O.O;; But her cat will find you and eat you! Rawwr!

AkitaFallow: Yay, I got called Kitsune-chan! -Glomps you- I write it out like that on purpose! XD Im so cruel…. Mwwaahaahaaa…

Darklink321: Im glad I make you happy! I love to write:3

Ayumi Elric: Don't worry! I got lucky with the whole manga thing! Im sure your story's are great enough WITH-OUT a manga! J

I'll wait for him: -Gets out shiny red pen and points to the explanation bit- is this good enough for ya?! XD Nah, im kidding. I love observant people:3

E.Mahiru: Lol, I don't know where to start with you! Ok, sorry about spelling, im a nOOb writer! XD Al could never spy on Ed! Could you imagine Al in a ninja costume (in his suit of armour form) in a tree!? Impossible:D And I couldn't let Al be turned into a chimera! Could I…. Anyhow, im not offended by being called a Brit! I am! XD Thanks for all the reviews! Your story's rock!

Dark Chocolate Alchemist: Yes, we all hope they don't die in the war… -Shifty eyes- I hope Winry randomly walks onto the battle-field and gets shot… Al is so cute! (PS: I HATE WINRY.)

Miiamya: I love to be unique, dark and weird! XD

FireHeart Alchemist: Thank you! I can post another link to it then! -Hugs- Heh, I love mute-Al. So vulnerable, so innocent… ANYWAY! XD Ah, it may be my story, but you're my inspiration:D

BakuraNeko: Hell yeah, Al is attractive! But Ed is just SEXY (and rape-able):D

Cold-Foxx: I shall! XD

EdElricRules: So many ' ' signs! Lol, I love wolves too! There so cute!

Xiia: Neither can I! XD

Hisana333: We all love emo Ed:D Thank-you for loving my Fanfic! I love it too:3

Bar-Ohki: Thank-you! Im trying to be dynamic when writing… I don't think its working… O.O

Jenelric: Ideas just seem to keep coming to me! XD The plot is so random!

Shikuki: At least Ed has it! XD

I got everyone this week (I think)! Yay! Plus I got 10,500 hits! Yay me again!

Kitsune-kun xxx

PS: Reviews will be used to buy medicine, as WhiteWolfKitsune is ill at the moment with the floo plus other stuff… -Sneezes- But she still writes fan fictions for all you lot, so be grateful she's updating! XD God... so sick… -cough- L I cant even taste chocolate anymore!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

UPDATEEEEEE!!!!

http:// www. fanfiction. net/ secure/ live(line on the floor)preview. php? storyid 3813130 &chapter1

Go here (without gaps, and you know what I mean by the line on the floor... do you?) : I wrote a one-shot/ spin-off for this story!!!!! (Or, you can just go to my profile...)


	20. Black Dragon

_Changing colors_

_Izumi…_

_forgive me._

"Edward! Speak to me!" The boy remained on the floor and was now refusing to utter a word to Roy, who was shaking him roughly.

"Edward!"

Still no answer. He could see Ed crying, and it was un-nerving that he didn't know what was wrong. He "couldn't save her"? Who was _her_?

"Did you have a nightmare?" Roy said softly, waiting for an answer. There was nothing but the slight shake of a head in response.

_Im living in a nightmare._

Roy huffed slightly, and stood up. Alphonse was peeking nervously over his covers with big, sleepy-looking eyes.

"Are you ok, Alphonse?"

Al indicated yes and pointed at Edward. Roy just shrugged his shoulders, and tried to get an answer out of him again.

"Roy, could you help me up please?" Edward suddenly said, causing Roy to stop in mid-sentence. He grabbed Edwards arm and hoisted him up, letting Edward get to his feet.

"Thanks." Edward whispered, and proceeded to walk to the front door. He paused only to grab his trousers, shoes and his coat, which were both in a messy pile in the corner. He carelessly threw them on, flicking his hair from his face.

"Edward, where are you going?" Roy asked, looking as frantic as usual. "Why are you getting dressed for?"

"Im going downstairs to get some water and I don't want to go down there half-naked." Edward explained calmly, all traces of sadness gone.

Roy didn't believe him.

"Don't move." Roy growled, taking a step towards him.

"Try and stop me." Ed smiled, darting forward.

"Edward, get back here!" Roy yelled, leaping after Edward and then stopping suddenly as he watched the teen run out the door. _Alphonse! _There was no way Roy was going to leave Alphonse like this.

Helplessly and angrily, he slammed the door shut and turned to Alphonse's bed and ruffled his hair a bit to try and comfort him.

"Don't worry, Im not leaving you. I hope Edward comes back soon… I know what he's like… Damn!" Roy growled, causing Al to flinch. "Al, it's dangerous to leave him on his own!"

Al looked up at him with a guilty look on his face. This made Roy feel guilty, too.

"No, no, Al! It's not your fault! He said he got rid of his problem… so he should be ok… right?"

Al blinked, looking rather confused. He sighed heavily, and tried to stifle a yawn as it was escaping him. As soon as he caught Roy watching him, he closed his mouth.

"Don't hide it, Alphonse. Go to sleep now; I'll keep look out for your brother." Roy smiled, feeling tired himself.

Al puffed out his chest and pouted, crossing his arms in stubbornness. He wasn't going to fall asleep when his brother was potentially in danger! And, he couldn't help himself for being so weak…

"He'll be back. Even when he runs away from me, he always comes back and forgives. Still the same Edward, eh?" Roy laughed weakly, slipping his eyes away from Alphonse and onto the door.

"Still the same Edward."

* * *

"…Heheheh…."

Edward staggered through the darkness of centrals streets, heading towards the military's HQ. His hair hung loosely over his faced as he was hunched over, and his steps were slow and heavy.

"…Hehehheeh…"

Turning a corner, he tripped on a bit of loose pavement, sending him flying to the floor. Pain jolted through him as he uncurled himself and checked himself over.

"…Hahahaaa….HAHAHAHA!" He roared to himself, the laughter echoing through the empty streets. He picked himself up and smiled toothily, turning his golden eye's upward.

"This… this freedom… Edward, what did I tell you?" To anyone that had known Edward Elric long enough, they could have sworn he sounded a little different. "Your idiocy has landed you in trouble."

_What?_

Edward couldn't feel himself anymore. He could see his surroundings like normal, but he couldn't move his body at all, no matter how hard he tried. He was trapped.

_Give me back my body!_ He snarled, trying to move again.

"No chance, boy. We had a deal, and you broke it." The Gate-keeper laughed, starting to walk again. "You lost control of your emotions."

_How do I get it back!_

"By letting me free."

_...Forget it. Im not putting anyone in danger._

"But now Im free to do as I want in your body." It laughed, still wandering the streets with a determined look on its face.

_Where are you going!_

"Stop shouting!" It hissed, clenching Edwards fists. "Im going to Central HQ to finish what was started- remember?"

_... your going to destroy the head quarters, aren't you?_ Edward whimpered, feeling scared.

"You got it. And it will be easy in this body, too." There was more laughter, and the famous steps of the Amestris military came into view through the gloom. Even in this light, the guard's were still visible, standing to attention at there posts beside the door, looking expressionless.

'Edward' grinned, preparing to clap his hands together.

"Its so easy- take down the building main support beams and _boom,_ the whole building falls! Such power!" it sneered, black energy sparking through the air. "Finally, it is-" 'Edward' stopped suddenly, gasping for air as he fell to the ground, shaking slightly. Sweat appeared on his pale face, and his golden eyes where wide in fear.

"H-he's here!" it howled, making Edward cringe.

_Who's here?_

"Him!"

And together, as the Gate-keeper turned his eyes upwards to the roof of a neighbouring building, they both could see a figure. A familiar looking one, at that.

_Wait! It can't be-_

"My master!"

* * *

There was a cat, a pitch black one with beautiful, emerald eyes. It was happily walking along, when it heard something screaming.

Cautiously, it dropped down low and sneaked off stealthily to an old dumpster in the corner of an alley. Underneath it, were five black and silver bundles of fur, all mewing happily at her return. She mewed back in response, and nudged them together so they wouldn't get lost our straggle off. All, that is, but one.

Unlike the rest of them, who were black with splotches of grey all over, this one was all black, like her mother. She, of course, had her mothers stunning, forest-green eyes as well.

Using her instincts, she decided to stalk off on her own- away from her brothers and sisters. Her mother didn't even notice; she was the runt of the litter, and was the smallest of all of them.

Stumbling out of the dark alley, she perked her ears at the sight of a man, standing outside a building. He looked friendly enough.

She mewed pitifully and padded over to him, rubbing her head against his foot. She was smaller than his shoe.

"Hey there, kitty." He said, even though she couldn't hear him. She suddenly felt herself being lifted off the floor, and was being cradled by the man. "Where is your mom?"

The kitten flattened her ears on her head, mewing again.

"Oh… your very small…" The man trailed off, holding her up in the air. "Im looking for my son- have you seen him?"

The kitten cocked its head in silence.

"I cant go any further than this, because my other son is ill."

The kitten mewed and tried to lick his hand in understanding. This made the man smile.

"I bet your hungry, right? I have some food, if you want it."

The kitten mewed again, not really understanding but just going along with the man. She was pulled back to the man's chest and was carried inside, feeling warm for the first time since she was born.

It was nice.

* * *

"Hey, Al." Roy smiled, opening the door to his room. The boy was still awake, looking as tired as ever. "Look what I have." Roy held up his hand to reveal a small, bundle of fluff hanging limply from it. Al's eyes widened instantly as he let out an excited squeak. He clambered shakily to the end of the bed quickly, a grin on his face so big it made him look like a psychotic.

"Calm down Al, its only a cat." Roy laughed, wishing Edward was here to see Al's excitement. Roy went downstairs to the kitchen after placing the cat on Al's bed, which was squashed almost immediately by the boy. Alphonse examined it over, and noticed immediately that it was a 'she'; and she was _tiny. _She was also malnourished and young- a bad combination.

Alphonse jumped as Roy appeared through the door with some chicken, making the kitten turn its head slightly. Alphonse beckoned his father over with the wave of his hand, and pointed to her ribs.

"Yes, it is skinny, isn't it?" Roy frowned, stroking the kittens head. She nearly fit underneath his hand.

He was glad he had found her though, because it was taking there minds of Edward…

Alphonse gave him a look that said 'can I keep her?'

"Al, if we go to war, and you come, where will she go?" Roy asked gently, making Alphonse look downwards. "But, I suppose, since were not at war yet, we could keep her for a while…" Alphonse squeaked again and rugby tackled him, nuzzling his chest.

"Ok! Ok! But make sure you look after her. Let her eat for now." Roy stated, placing the kitten and the bowl of chicken on the floor. She sniffed it, and cautiously (after a while of staring) started to eat it. Al was watching her intently, making sure she was eating every little bit.

Roy sighed.

What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

_He… he died… it can't be!_ Edward wailed, wanting to hide. But of course, he had no control over his body anymore.

"Why…." The Gate-keeper whispered. It swivelled its eyes around the area, looking for something that it couldn't see.

_Huh?_

"Everyone says my master was kicked out of the military because he lost control of his power, hurting team-members on purpose. But, it was really because his alchemy rebounded on itself, and he became like you." It spat, getting to its feet again.

_Is there another one of you?_ Edward shivered mentally. That would be bad.

"…Yes." He looked forward, to find his 'master' glaring at him. "That's not him."

_What? It is him! It looks exactly like him!_

"NO!" The Gate-keeper ran forward at full speed towards Garser, leaping up to tackle him. The man side-stepped just in time, making the Gate-keeper roll over into a crouch. Edwards body was fast, and that was an advantage for him, but then again, Garser was fast too.

"Tor! Show your-self!" It growled, raising his fist.

_Edward, if you want to live, you have to listen to me. Let me free and regain control of your body, or you will be destroyed by him. _It spoke in Edward's head, making him jump.

_I cannot trust you!_ Edward growled back, even though he could feel truth radiating from its words.

_I promise! Do you want to die? If I die in this state, you will to! I have to fight by myself! Believe me!_ It roared, the ground beneath its feet shaking.

… _How do I do it?_

_Its physical release- alchemy!_

Slowly, Edward tried to move again, watching through the Gate-keepers eyes as his hands met together and black sparks flared. He could feel it leaving him- draining his power until he was defenceless. There where memory's, leading up to the present day from the day he was cursed with the Gate alchemy flashing through his mind at speed, making him dizzy. There were arrays everywhere- from complex to simple, etched deep into his mind, and they were being erased by the second. The binds that held him and the beast together where being broken, and he could feel the piece of him that was missing slowly return… Blinking, he could feel that he was in his own body again. He flexed his fingers slowly, making sure everything was in order, and looked around cautiously.

He saw something you don't see everyday.

Behind Garser, there was a huge, black dragon with obsidian wings and spiked ridges along its back. Its mouth was open in a snarl, and its bright, purple pupils were small and glaring at him. It was at least the same height and width as a truck.

And turning his head slightly, the Gate-keeper was next to him, as big as the dragon, its horns looking as sharp as its claws. Edward flinched slightly at the sight, and his body was telling him to flee. But for some strange reason, he couldn't leave…

"Tor… Its been a while." The Gate-keeper smirked aloud, rumbling the streets. The guard's at the doors didn't even notice the gigantic dragon and the wolf standing there.

"Tor…" Edward echoed, causing the Gate-keeper to look down.

"This _thing_ is Garser's rebound. It's probably been looking for you." It hissed, bearing its teeth as its fur stood on end.

"Why!"

"Because you killed its creator."

The dragon took a step forward and lowered its head, grinning as well.

"Zeit… nice to see you still alive." It rumbled, unfolding its wings.

"Wait… you have a name!" Edward squeaked, eyes wide. 'Zeit' smiled down at him, golden pupils glistening.

"I have."

"This is not a tea-party, Zeit. I have come by the Gates request… as you know, this boy has taken all of the alchemy," 'Tor' lashed its tail threatening. "And Im here to get it back."

Zeit carefully stepped in front of Edward, letting the boy take cover behind one of its legs.

"Try and get him."

"Gladly."

Tor leapt forward, making the illusion of Garser disappear into the night and charged at Zeit, who, by then, had picked up Edward in his mouth and had placed him on his back.

_Hold on._ It spoke in his head, just adding to his confusion. He felt his stomach lurch forward, as Zeit leapt up over Tor and ran.

Edward could feel the wind rushing past him, but he ignored it. He focused intently on holding on, because if he fell at this speed, he would die. Looking backwards, he could see the black dragon gliding after them, face set in a snarl.

_Are we faster than it?_ He asked Zeit, who was galloping as fast as he could on his six legs.

_Yes, but he could go for longer._ The answer didn't make him happy. Edward put his head back down and shivered. He wanted Roy and Al with him.

This… this was unbelievable! He was riding on the back of a six legged wolf being chased by a dragon and no-one was noticing! It made him wonder what all this actually looked like from someone else's point of view…

* * *

Roy yawned slightly, and gazed out the window. Where was Edward? Maybe he should start looking for him now…

Alphonse was playing with the kitten drowsily, which was still wide awake. The darn thing just wouldn't keep still.

Glancing back outside again, he jumped as he saw a black blur flash past the window, lasting for only a small fraction of a second. A bird perhaps? Yeah, maybe.

One thing was for sure: when he saw Edward again, he was going to kick his ass.

* * *

…And where the hell was he going anyway?

_Zeit! Where are we going?_ He said in his head, glancing backwards again. The dragon was further away now.

_... I don't know. Im just going to keep running._ Zeit answered, smiling. _You can always jump off of me._

_I don't want to become a pancake._ Edward snorted mentally, holding on tighter as the wolf leapt gracefully over a building. Ed wondered what he was going to tell Roy when he got back…

_He's slowing down_ Zeit stated, panting slightly.

_So are you. I think you should hide. _Edward was right- the beast couldn't run for much longer.

Now, on the outskirts of central, where it got rural, they were now dodging rocks instead of buildings. Zeit swerved round a corner and skidded into a shallow looking cave, surrounded by rocks.

They could hear the beating of Tor's wings overhead as it searched for them, but to its discontent, couldn't find them.

"I'll find you, and kill you!" it screeched, and moved on elsewhere. It was hard to find something black in the dead of night; it was like trying to find a needle in a hay-stack.

Edward sat in the cave, hunched up against the Gate-keeper, shivering slightly. The whole ordeal had just caught up on him.

"Are you ok?" Zeit asked, turning to face Edward. Edward jumped slightly, as he realised it was all fluffy now, and it only had four legs. It was also considerably smaller… when had it changed back?

"Yeah, Im fine." Edward answered, leaning into his fluffy companion more. "I suppose your done with me, right? I wanted to make you good, but know you're free to do what you want..." Ed trailed off slightly, closing his eyes. He really did want to turn this into a good situation, so no-one else would get hurt by it all. "Your going to destroy central…"

"Well…" Zeit stammered, looking like it was put on the spot. "I cant really go anywhere… if im seen, I'll be killed…"

"What are you saying? That you'll stay with me?" Edward said in an eager tone.

Of all the bad things that had happened to him because of the beast, there were at least one or two good things.

If it wasn't for Zeit, Roy would be his Father…

And if it wasn't for Zeit, Al wouldn't be normal…

"I owe you." Edward stated, sitting up. "I owe you for a lot, but for the things you influenced me to do, I cant forgive you."

"I don't expect you too. And I owe you, for keeping your word and trusting me." Zeit smiled at him. "I will stay with you."

"… There is a condition isn't there?" Edward sighed, watching as the beast's smile got wider.

"There is. I will stay with you, but every time someone try's to hurt you, I _will_ kill them." The wolf smirked slightly, examining his claws.

"I guess… but you cannot hurt Roy or Al, no matter what." Edward grit his teeth, silently agreeing to the conditions.

He didn't see a downside to that.

"Fine. Lets go back." Zeit shuffled out of the cave awkwardly, stretching like a cat.

"How am I going to hide you?" Edward asked, wondering how he was going to smuggle the wolf into his house.

"Easy." And in the blink of an eye, there was no wolf. Instead, in its place, was a little black puppy with an array on its forehead. The first thing Edward wanted to do was hug it- he always had a soft spot for animals.

"Don't think about it." Zeit growled, waddling up to him and pawing his ankles. Edward took this as an invitation and picked it up, tucking him under his arm.

"Don't change back, ok?" Edward pleaded, eyeing the dog thoughtfully. "And don't talk."

"I promise." The dog replied, and wagged its tail.

Things were about to get weird.

* * *

By the time Edward had gotten home on foot, the sun was ready to rise, even though it was still dark.

Quietly, he sneaked into the apartment, expecting his brother and his dad to be asleep.

They weren't.

"Edward!" Roy started, ready to rant as he powered over to the boy and held his shoulders. "Don't you ever, EVER storm out of here like that again! Do I make myself clear? I don't care what your excuse was, you made me and our brother worry and that is unforgivable! Ok? Are we on the same wave-length?" He finished breathlessly, hugging Edward tightly. "Don't leave ever again."

"Don't worry, dad. Im sorry." Edward blinked, feeling tears at his eyes. Then suddenly, he remembered the puppy and held it up.

"Dad look what I found!" Edward smiled, watching as Zeit wagged it's tail enthusiastically. Roy groaned aloud, and pointed to Alphonse, who was _still_ playing with his cat.

"We cant have a dog as well! He already has his cat!" Roy cried, making Alphonse look up. Al didn't even notice his brother's entrance. He yelped happily and indicated him over, asking silently for a hug. Edward delivered, placing the puppy beside the kitty.

"Edward, why does the dog have a transmutation circle on its head?" Roy asked curiously, picking it up. The dog growled, and squirmed in his hands. "Its vicious, too."

"Dad, we have to keep it! Look how helpless it is!" Edward pleaded him, swiping it off of Roy and placing it on the floor.

_Act defenceless!_

The dog immediately started to whine and limp around blindly, bumping into Edwards foot. Finally, it sat at Roy's feet and stared up at him with the most brilliant amber eyes he'd ever seen.

"It's got your eyes, Edward." Roy smiled, bending down and patting the puppy. It flinched and ran back to Edward. "As long as its house trained…I suppose it can stay…" Roy was too soft.

_Way_ too soft.

"Thank you, dad!" Edward squeaked, hugging him again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the puppy sitting itself next to the kitten on Al's bed, making Al silently laugh.

The dog glared at it, and the cat glared back. She didn't like this 'dog' one bit. Hissing, she tried to swipe at its nose but it side-stepped quickly and clamped its jaws around its neck and held it down.

Al shrieked, causing Roy to sprint over. As soon as he saw what the puppy was doing, he ripped it off the cat and threw it backwards.

"Edward! Your dog attacked the cat!" Roy growled, watching as the puppy landed on its feet. How un-dog-like. "Bad dog!"

_Zeit!_

_Not my fault._Zeit huffed, walking over to Edward. Edward picked it up and put it on his bed, slowly getting undressed again. Both Roy and Alphonse were glaring at the puppy, who sat at the end of Edward's bed. Alphonse soothed his kitten, and inspected the bite. It wasn't that bad.

Roy would deal with the dog and Edward in the morning.

Switching off the lights, Roy quietly said 'goodnight' to his sons, glancing at Alphonse as he cuddled up to his scared looking cat, and Edward snuggled up to his pillow an almost instantly fell asleep.

In the little light there was, Roy suddenly spotted two, golden eyes watching him. It was the dog. He could almost see it… smiling at him.

The golden eyes blinked, and Roy shivered.

"Yes, Roy," Zeit smiled. "I can see you."

* * *

Tor fluttered to a halt outside some Ishballen ruins, waiting for its new master to appear. From out of nowhere, a man appeared in a professional-looking suit.

The ambassador of Drachma.

The one at the meeting.

"Master, I could not capture the boy. He had a spirit with him." Tor growled, lowering its head.

"No matter. Amestrian forces has already met Drachman forces up north." The man stated. "I will inform my military to up defences." The man smiled, bright light enveloping him un-till he was the same, green haired homunculus he always was.

"I control the whole of Drachma now- We cant loose to one kid." Envy yawned, making the dragon look up. "You are built well, Tor. Don't give up until you kill him, _and_ his beast."

"Yes, master." And with that, Tor glided off into the distance, a black shadow against a black back-drop.

Envy smirked as he watched it go.

"Let the invasion of Central begin."

* * *

Tor 'Gate' in German.

Zeit 'Time' in German.

… I think. XD

So, next chapter, Ed and Roy are off to war. :D Evil Envy! He's still alive! (that will all be explained later) I love puppy Gate-keeper! So cute!

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Ok, this is the 'Name Al's cat' contest! Submit a name, and if I like it, I shall call it that! No stupid names, like poop or something, please… Al doesn't like those names! XD

Anyone can enter, even people that haven't even read the story! XD

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry, I cant do the whole review thing today. I have a time limit of 15 minutes to upload this, before the internet shuts off… But I PROMISE I will do ALL of the reviews next week!!!

Kitsune-kun xxx

PS: A war. One puppy that can kill hundreds of people at once. And One child that has emotional issues.

Yay, fun!


	21. Acceptance

I have the winner of the cat contest! You'll find out in this chapter! XD

AND BY THE WAY: Im referring to Zeit as a guy now, because technically he has Edwards voice, which means he sounds like a guy… But he will only be gendered in certain points of view.

WARNING: FLUFFY GATE-KEEPER PUPPY ABUSE!!!

WARNING: FLUFFY GATE-KEEPER PUPPY/ROY FLUFF!!!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

* * *

_Changing colors_

Roy jumped up into the air involuntarily, mind racing with questions. Most of these said questions where actually: 'WHAT THE HELL? DID IT JUST-? AM I MAD?' and such forth, but the main one was;

Did that _dog_ just _speak_ to him?

Walking quietly and stealthily over to the puppy, he bent down to its eye level and glared at it.

"What did you _say?_" Roy growled, getting closer to its face.

"Woof!" Zeit replied quietly, wagging his tail.

"… You're not fooling me. You spoke! I heard you!" Roy silently as quietly as he could, watching as the puppy wagged its tail harder.

"Woof!" It barked, licking his hand.

He wasn't crazy. The dog defiantly spoke to him.

"Im watching _you. _I know what you said, and I know you know me. Touch Edward or Al's cat again, and your dead. Got it?"

"Woof!" The puppy said again, looking happy with itself.

"…You know, you really have got his eyes: bright gold." Roy contemplated, pointing to its face. "And that circle on your head means something. Im an alchemist, you know. Don't think Im not going to work it out anyway."

"…Woof…" Zeit squirmed, feeling uncomfortable. He was an invincible-wolf-demon-spawned-from-evil-that-could-kill-thousands-within-minutes and yet he was scared of a human?

He'd gone soft.

"Yeah, you know to 'woof'. I'll catch you out eventually." Roy spat, returning to his couch/bed. That dog wasn't normal- he could tell.

Laying his head down on, he noticed the nervous glace the glowing golden eyes were giving him-

Wait… glowing?

"_Don't give me that crap, Edward. You know, if something's bothering you, you can tell me."_

"_Would you really listen?… Well, there's this one thing…Actually, it's more of an illusion than a thing…h-he speaks to me… and he tells me to hurt myself… because Im worthless…"_

"_Ignore him." Roy could see Edward's eyes glowing faintly in the darkness-_

"_Stop it! Get out of his kind! You're destroying him!" _

"_How could you say that, Dad? After all we have been through!" Edward's eyes were still glowing-_

"_Don't fuck with me! I know what you are!"_

"Its you…" Roy breathed, getting to his feet. "Its you!"

Zeit shivered a little and whined, running up to Edwards head and pawing him slightly. The boy had only had about an hours sleep so far, and was too deep in to be woken.

Zeit was yanked from the bed by Roy and was held up to his face, where the puppy squirmed in his grasp. Roy quickly placed an ear against its chest, and listened. It _did_ have a heart beat, but it was far too slow for an animal of its size. In all respect, it should be dead.

He then let his gaze travel over Edwards sleeping body. Still keeping the puppy against his face (which was difficult), he crept over to Edward and grasped his wrist with his free hand, feeling for a pulse. When he found one and compared it to the puppy, he gasped.

They were the _same._

Roy quickly threw the puppy onto the floor, making it howl in pain.

"You have his heart-beat, too. What else are you going to steal of his, you bastard?" Roy whispered venomously, eyes flashing. "Your not even supposed to be alive."

The game was up.

"His voice." Zeit rasped, shaking himself off. "That was uncalled for. Im fragile-" He was cut off when a foot connected with his side, sending him sprawling into a fluffy heap on the floor.

"Don't start small talk with me! It's all your fault!" Roy's voice was beginning to get higher against his will. He wanted to _flay_ that bastard.

How did he even exist out here!

Wasn't he am illusion?

Zeit shakily got to his feet and continued shaking when he was up.

"Its not-" Yet again, he never got to finish, as he was swiftly thrown against the wall with a sickening crack, blood erupting from his mouth. Roy stood before him breathlessly, gazing down at the creature. Its neck was broken, and blood was streaked across his midnight black fur.

Had he killed it?

Suddenly, there was another crack, and its neck was back in place as its head turned to face him with wide, empty eyes. Slowly, it began to grow, its face grew longer, its fur scruffier, and on its side the skin split apart and bulged until there were six limbs instead of four.

Roy didn't have a chance to acknowledge what was happening before he was knocked to the floor, pinned down by claws as big as his head.

"Bad idea." Zeit hissed, placing his face close to Roy's. The man was growling and fidgeted in his grasp.

"Let me up!"

"No, Roy." Came the reply. "I don't want to let you up." Its voice was monotone, and its eyes were slowly narrowing and un-emotional.

"Grrr…." Roy matched its voice. The man was slightly afraid of his current situation, but chose to ignore the feeling and let urge to destroy the thing come forward. It was amazing that Edward and Alphonse hadn't woken up yet.

"Now that I have your attention, shut the hell up and listen." Zeit spat, leaning on Roy harder. "Im not out to make trouble with you, but if you continue to try and kill me, even though I can't die, I will hurt you and break my promise with Edward at the same time. Ok?"

Roy nodded slowly, and watched as the thing shrank back to a puppy. Roy leapt up at once.

"Why can't you just leave us alone?" Roy asked as he dusted himself off, a hint of hatred in his tone.

"Because I have promises to keep, people to kill, and demons to fight. I also have someone to protect…" Zeit trailed off, turning his eyes up to Roy. "You understand, right?"

Just like Riza…

"I… I understand." Roy concluded. His eyes still held hatred for the beast as he picked it up, feeling it shiver beneath his fingers. He carried it over to the sink in the bath-room and put it inside, running some hot water. He then got a towel and scrubbed the puppy, who looked confused.

"Huh?" Roy flinched at its tone. It sounded so much like Edward it was impossible.

"Blood." Roy grunted, not wanting to talk to the murderous puppy. "Im washing it off."

"…Oh." Zeit stayed quiet for the rest of the bath and obeyed Roy without question- he needed to get into the man's good book.

When Roy had finished, he threw the towel into the dirty laundry, placed an even-fluffier-than-before Zeit on the ground and pointed to the floor next to Edward's bed.

"Sleep there. I don't want you sleeping in the same bed as him." Roy said harshly. He watched as the puppy's ears fell down onto its head and its tail went limp as it dragged itself to the spot and curled up into a ball. Roy felt like he was being harsh, but it was-

Wait, this thing was technically a mass murderer!

But, Edward wouldn't like it if he got rid of it…

Roy once again turned to his couch and lay down on it, keeping a sleepy eye on the dog-wolf in front of him. And finally, after a while, he slept.

_**Morning… or early afternoon**_

When Edward woke up, the first thing he did was to make sure Al was still with him. Luckily, the boy was sleeping but a metre away. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned to look for Roy.

The man was sleeping in an awkward position on the sofa, face in a hard frown. Edward had the feeling that he wasn't going to be a nice man today.

And finally, Edward checked for his puppy, who was not at the foot of his bed where he had left him.

"Zeit?" Edward whispered, looking around for him.

"Down here." The reply was gruff, and barely audible. Edward leaned over the side of his bed to find the dog lying stiffly on the floor, the dog version of a scowl on his face.

"Why are you on the floor?" Edward yawned, picking him up. Zeit stretched casually and sat on the bed, duvet looking like it would swallow him whole.

"Because it's more comfortable." He lied, wagging his tail slowly. He decided he'd rather not talk about last night and change the conversation. "Do you think Alphonse will want to play with me?"

_My emotions…Reflecting off him._ Edward thought privately. So his emotions affected the wolf more than he thought…

"Yes, Im sure he would." Edward grinned, making the puppy wag his tail harder. Suddenly, Zeit's ears shot up straight and he looked directly downwards, eyes wide.

"Do you hear that?" He whispered, making Edward look down as well. He didn't know what he was supposed to be staring at.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone downstairs is looking for you." Zeit's fur was starting to raise on his back. "Someone… General. A General."

"The Military!" Edward shot out of bed (causing Zeit to fall on the floor in shock) and shook Roy awake roughly.

"No… Riza… come back…" Roy murmured, hugging his pillow tighter. Ed rolled his eyes and pushed Roy off the sofa, jolting him awake.

"Edward? What is it?" Roy said in slight annoyance.

"The military is here!"

Within seconds, Al was awake and all three were dressed, but it was too late. There was someone knocking on the door.

"Coming!" Roy said, opening the door timidly. "Yes?"

"Colonel Roy Mustang and Major Edward Elric. Pleasure to meet you." The door was forced open by two military men, both flanking what appeared to be a high ranking soldier.

"I am General Bowing. We had an… anonymous tip about your location." The high ranked man said. He had light brown hair, and looked rather young for someone of that status. "As you probably know, all state-alchemists have been called to the front line. And you two, of course, are no exception."

Roy stepped protectively in front of his two boys.

"As you probably know, _General,_ I am no longer a military man. So please, move on." He hissed as kindly as he could.

"Ah, technically you are not. You're a wanted criminal." The man sniffed. "So is the boy. But you still have more experience than anyone one else, and I will not take no for an answer." Both of Bowing's military guards raised there guns.

"Don't you see we have a disabled child?" Roy spat. "This is in-humane!"

"And who is this? The boy in the armour Full-metal is always with?" Bowing blinked, taking a step forward. "He can come too, but not as a soldier, if you like."

"But what about my dog!" Edward whined, picking Zeit up.

The puppy felt like he was being seriously man-handled today.

"That little pup? He can starve for all I care."

Edward could feel a low growl start to form in Zeit's throat.

_Don't say a thing or act rashly._

_Wouldn't dream of it._

"He has to come, or I will not. And if Al does, so does the cat." Edward huffed.

Bowing visibly paled. The Fuhrer, though wanting Edward and Roy dead, also wanted them to fight. What could he do about the animals?

"Fine! Fine! Whatever! Bring them, but do not let them get in the way." The General waved them off, and spun on his heel. "We're leaving now. There is a van outside waiting for you." Then they left.

"Edward! We cant go to war!" Roy stuttered, picking up Alphonse. The boy, in turn, had his cat in his arms.

"Roy, we have too." Edward said softly, carrying Zeit. The boy was buzzing with nervous excitement, which made the puppy buzz too. He was going to help this country, no matter what.

Seeing as the war was partly his fault…

Literally flying down the hall, he sped into the main room and then stopped instantly.

Garin, the inn keeper, was lying on the floor.

"Are you ok!" Edward screeched, helping him up. The man had a broken nose by the looks of it.

"Who is this?" Gar asked shakily, eyes darting around.

"Roy's son."

"Oh, Edward! I tried to stop them but there was too many of them and I couldn't see..." He trailed off, hanging his head low. "Im sorry."

"No, its ok! Don't worry about it. We were bound to be found in the end." Edward turned his head to see Roy approaching. The man stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Garin.

"Garin! What happened!" Roy pushed him down onto a chair with his free hand, ignoring the sound of the horns beeping outside.

"Them guys and there darn guns happened, Roy." Garin laughed shakily. "Someone ratted on you. I don't know who it was, though." He hissed suddenly as Roy traced his hand over the man's nose.

"I'll sort that out later. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine." The man grinned, multi-colored eyes sparkling. "Get out there, before those horns make me deaf as well."

"I owe you, Gar. I'll be back to repay you after all of this." Roy hugged him in a manly way and gave him a sad look that the man couldn't see.

"Just go, and I'll sort myself out."

Edward, Roy, Alphonse, his cat, and Zeit clambered outside with the little belongings they had, into the awaiting military cars, all with sad looks on there faces.

"Are you going to be alright with this, Ed? Are you sure you don't want to send Al to Rizembool?" Roy whispered to him, making Al blink sadly. He didn't want to go!

"No. I don't want him to be apart from me." Edward glanced over to his brother, who smiled back reassuringly.

"You three, get in." A military escort stated, opening the door to one of the vans and pushing them in. "We have little time."

Edward muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'Bastard' to Roy and cuddled Zeit closer to him.

_Are you frightened already?_

_No, Im excited. Im going to fight, and I wont be a coward. I'll show Roy how brave I am!_

_I'll fight too, for your sake. _

"So Al, what are you going to name your cat?" Roy smiled, watching as the brunettes mouth moved but nothing came out.

"He doesn't know." Edward said, reading his brother like a book.

"How about Tal? Or Mirilee?" Roy asked. Alphonse shook his head.

"Miyuki? Kira? Misty? Needles?" The man suggested, thinking of as many cats names as he could. Al just raised his eyebrows at the last one.

"Neko? Midnight? Moon? Trisha? Casey? Mystic? Sunday? Snickers? Rukia? Callia?" Roy tried again. Alphonse shook his head at all of them.

"Al, it's a cat. Just get a name for it!" Roy nearly screamed for no reason. The attendants in the car gave them all strange looks.

"…Pumpkin." Edward said, making Al's eyes widen. The boy nodded enthusiastically.

"Pumpkin? What sort of name is that?" Roy snorted, petting the cats head. "Its not even remotely Pumpkin-like!"

"We had a kitten like this when we were little. We called it "Pumpkin" because we found it in a Vegetable patch while we were playing outside. Mom wouldn't let us keep it though!" Edward laughed, and Alphonse silently giggled.

"Pumpkin… I still don't understand you boys." Roy sighed, turning back to Edward. "And what is your… puppy… called." Edward wondered why he hesitated in the middle, but didn't question him.

"Zeit."

"'Zeit? Where did you get that from?"

"… I don't really know…" Edward trailed off, looking downwards. Roy patted his shoulder and looked out the window, where buildings were quickly passing. He wondered If maybe he could see his old military gang in the north, and where Al was going to go. But more importantly, he kept an eye on the 'puppy' in Edwards arms. It was staring at him again with those wide, golden eyes.

He was going to have to watch that thing very closely from now on…

And he was never going to trust it.

* * *

WINNERS:

Shikuki and E.Mahiru, with the name: "Pumpkin" (Shikuki, your friend's cat is fiction now XD)

And, I added all the other cat names entered! Hurrah! (if I missed you, tell me!)

REVIEWS!!!

Hero of Time132: I love you for saying that! Thankyou! -Hugs-

I'll Wait For Him: -Pressing topic- I LOVE ED!!!

Sepapa-chan: -Takes cookie- You should own a bakery! I'd come! XD And I'd take all your cookies… mwwwaaaahhaa….

E.Mahiru: o.O wow, what a lot of names! And they are very interesting…(Buffy the vampire slayer?) Awww, you have a big black cat! So do I:D

Litzmetal Alchemist: I cant spell… L

SwiftFeather: SPAM!!! -Hits you- XD I AM A DRAGON RIDER!!!! -In my dreams at least…)

AkitaFallow: Roy is always freaked out! XD

Yakami: ISNT HE CUTE!!!??? He's not mean… just psycho… XD

EdElricRules: Envy's back, as you will see soon enough… -DumDumDUUUMMM!!-

Bar-Ohki: He's stupid when he wants to be! XD

Ayumi Elric: I know! XD I was at an internet café, you see… :D

Jenelric: -Hugs- I love your long review!!! War is fun… in fan fiction land!

Wow, people love to man-handle Zeit… I feel sorry for him!!!

OMG I NEED TO DOWNLOAD BLUEBIRDS ILLUSION!!!!! I need to play that now, even if I cant say a single word of Chinese… Heh…

NEARLY AT 300 REWIEWS!!!!!! YYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

Kitsune-kun xxx

PS: Isn't Roy soft? I would have killed that dog!

Zeit: Thanks…


	22. Snowflakes

_Changing colors_

It took a while to reach the frozen lands of the north, and there was nothing to do in the car but stare out the window. At some point, they all had fallen asleep and had woken up to a land of snow and ice beyond the glass, making them huddled together for warmth.

"You alright, Al?" Edward said softly to his brother, watching as he nodded. Pumpkin was snoring lightly on his lap, her fur fluffed up so much you couldn't see where her body ended or where it began.

Zeit seemed to be indifferent, and he was content with staring at Roy, who was being unnerved by it. The stupid little thing wouldn't _stop._

"Edward, could you turn your puppy around or something? I don't like it looking at me." Roy hissed, eying it uncertainly. Zeit snorted and turned himself around, much to the guard's amusement.

Roy's eyes narrowed, but then widened as the camp came into view. It was just like most of the camps he had been too before- tents everywhere, soldiers scurrying around after there commanding officers, and the injured crying out as they were treated.

_Zeit… maybe I was wrong… war doesn't look nice…_

He didn't receive an answer, but the puppy looked up at him.

_But I will fight, for Izumi._ The words felt like another blow in his heart, but he ignored them. This was no time to fall apart.

The car slowed to a stop, and the guard's ushered them out of the carriage in a single line.

"Sorry for the long car ride, but trains coming up north have been reserved for stock." Bowing answered, pointing to a rather large tent. "Follow me." He marched forward with the two alchemists at his side, Alphonse in Roy's arms and Pumpkin in Al's arms. Edward shivered silently, cursing his auto-mail. He was so cold…

"You." Bowing pointed to Roy. "Major mustang. And you." He pointed to Edward. "Major Elric, will be assigned a tent together. We know about your… past crimes, so guard's will be issued." Edward scowled, nearly dropping Zeit who was growling also. "Wake up call is 5:00 am, and lights out is 11:00 pm. Do I make myself clear?"

Roy and Ed nodded.

"You are dismissed. The brunette-boy shall stay in your tent with you." Bowing waved them off with his hand and turned around, signalling them to leave.

"What a jerk." Zeit mumbled under his breath, so quietly only Ed could hear. The boy agreed- he was.

"Edward, he didn't tell us what tent we are in." Roy breathed, glancing around. Everybody was staring at them with suspicious eyes.

"Is it safe to assume we are in the rather large tent with the two guard's outside?" Edward voiced, looking up at Mustang. Roy nodded back and headed over to it.

"Sir!" The guard's chimed together, allowing them to enter. It was simple- three beds (they must have heard about Alphonse) and that was it. Roy placed Alphonse on the bed and huddled the thin blankets around him and his cat, who didn't seem to mind.

Edward placed Zeit on a bed and spun round to talk to Roy.

"Roy, we'll be fine, right? I mean, we wont get hurt, will we?"

Roy sighed slightly and placed his hands on Edward shoulder, shuddering as he remembered his last war. Not all wounds were physical, as he knew.

"Edward." Roy said bluntly, not bothering to hide the truth. "It's a war; we can all get hurt." Edward looked down at the floor and sighed. He had been hoping for a softer answer, but the same answer none the less.

After all: he wasn't invincible.

* * *

Tor had been searching for his master, Envy, but the boy and the demon were nowhere to be seen. Where the hell were they? Hiding, like rodents?

The dragon roared in fury, and went north, to where the 'war' was. His master had started the war out of nothing, and for no real reason, as far as Tor knew. The dragon knew his master was supposed to die, as the Gate was supposed to take him, but of course, he was born from the gate, so it would not take him back. It had token his immortality, though, and this meant his master was vulnerable. In fact, Tor could kill him right now…

But the dragon hated Zeit more.

And that is why he was going to slaughter him.

* * *

Pumpkin mewed happily at her master, who was stroking her ears. She loved it when people stroked her ears, especially her master.

She turned her emerald eyes round to stare at black-dog, who was staring at her. Who did it think it was, attacking Pumpkin like that! What a stupid dog!

Pumpkin fluffed up her fur and hissed slightly, making Black-dog narrow its eyes. Pumpkin done the same, and nuzzled her masters hand in affection, to which her master nuzzled back. Master was so warm…

She mewed at him and turned to look at Small and Tall-man. Small looked sad… Maybe it was because he hadn't had any food? Or maybe he didn't like Tall-man. Either way, when Small was un-happy, master was un-happy, and Pumpkin didn't like that.

She bounded off the bed before Master could stop her and waddled over to Small, rubbing against his leg. Small smiled, and picked her up with his cold and not-so-cold hands, making her mew slightly. She cuddled up to his chest and licked his clothes, willing him to not be sad anymore. It seemed to have worked, because Small looked happy again.

Pumpkin smiled a cat smile, and purred loudly.

She loved to make people happy.

* * *

'Major' Mustang and 'Major' Elric stayed in their tents for the rest of the day, because they were sure that if they ever went outside, people would glare at them.

The tent was damp and cold, but it wasn't much of a surprise since they were in the coldest part of the country. The enemy had decided to lay low, as there had not been any recent attacks as of late, and it was slightly unnerving to know one could happen at anytime.

The worst part of the day was when the guard's had both come in and had issued them uniform and a handgun, to 'protect them.' To Roy, this had brought back to many memory's that he didn't want to remember, and he had tossed the weapon under the bed as soon as he had gotten it.

Edward had stared at it for a while. It was so smooth… a true bringer of death…

But, in its own little way, it was _pretty…_

_Zeit, when will the fighting start?_ Edward said rather timidly. The puppy, who had been sleeping, yawned slightly and curled back up.

_When ever it feels like starting._The wolf replied, quietly falling back to sleep. The dog had defiantly lost its edge.

Edward sighed, and wondered out into the heart of the camp, uniform itchy and stiff. It made him look twice as short as before, much to his annoyance.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is!" Came a gruff voice behind him. He spun around to find him face-to-chest with a huge, muscular man. "It's the Full Metal shorty."

Edward grit his teeth together so hard he was sure he could here them crack.

"It's the Full-metal alchemist, bastard. Don't say what you cant spell." Edward remarked, and casually turned to walk away. The man snarled behind him, only just realising that his intelligence had been insulted, and spun Edward around again with his hands.

"So, you want to play like that, huh?" The man, whom Edward had never seen before, roared. He swung his fist at Edward, who quickly dodged to the side.

"What is your problem?"

"My problem, is that we don't like murderers in our camp." The man chuckled, watching Edwards expression as more soldiers surrounded him.

"This is hardly fair." Edward commented, taking a step back. The men continued to advance, and Edward continued to walk backwards.

There was no way he could fight these men all at the same time.

He was in enough trouble as it is.

* * *

Zeit's ears pricked up, and his nose twitched suddenly. He could feel Edward's unease at something, and he decided to investigate.

* * *

Edward felt the first blow was the worst, as it had taken him by surprise. What had happened to no violence on the campus?

The following blows were softer, but it wasn't to say they didn't hurt a lot. Ed was determined not to fight back, and he didn't. He shielded himself from most of the punches, but one of them, an extremely heavy one, sent him sprawling on the floor in pain.

"How do you like that, runt?" someone laughed, and the others joined in. Then, over the laughter, foot-steps were heard, and everybody froze.

Edward gasped as Zeit sat down in front of him, and looked up at the men with big, round eyes. God knows how the puppy had found him, but it couldn't have token long.

The men around him howled in laughter again, pointing there fingers at the dog and laughing as Zeit wagged his tail and 'woofed' quietly.

"Oh no, killed puppy! Run away!" They taunted, making Edward shrink. How embarrassing.

"Let me pet it!" The first, big man giggled, and bent down to pet the puppy's head.

And all of a sudden, there was a black blur, and some of the mans fingers were missing.

"What the hell!?" He roared in pain, trying to stop the blood from leaking out of him. Looking down, he saw all three of the fingers inside the puppy's smiling mouth.

"Fuck!" He yelled, and went to kick it. It side-stepped, clamping its jaws around the man's ankles and flipping him over.

"Shit, your getting owned by a fucking puppy!" The mans friends cackled as he sprang to the feet and ran off to the Welfare office, hand in shreds.

The men turned on Zeit, who was looking evilly at them. Slowly, he grew, arms growing, eyes appearing everywhere and teeth glinting with the mans blood. Everyone in the encampment turned and gasped at the sight as Zeit rose above all of them, his eyes spotting everyone in the encampment.

"Do not touch him EVER AGAIN!" The wolf roared, and everyone fled. The people on the outskirts of the camp shot at him, to find he didn't die when he had been flooded with thousands of bullets.

This made him more angry.

He thrashed around, seeking out the people that had hurt Edward. He even chased one to the middle of the woods, where he trapped the man underneath his huge paw.

"D-don't hurt me! I have a family at home!" He squirmed. Zeit lowered his head, and smiled, running his tongue over the mans face.

"I have family too." He said softly. "And you hurt him." The mans eyes went wide and lifeless as jaws enclosed around his torso and snapped him in half. Zeit grinned madly and sped back to the camp to find the others.

* * *

Edward, alone, sat in the middle of the camp, hands over his ears. He watched as people fled, and some were crushed, while Zeit chased them and put and end to their life.The gun… 

It was all his fault.

* * *

Roy didn't understand what was happening, but he had ran away with Alphonse, far away from the camp, as soon as he had seen the demon appear in the camp. He needed to get back and find Edward as soon as possible, before something bad happened to him.

"Alphonse, stay covered. I will be back!" Roy said, sprinting off. Al sat in a rather thick bush, hunched over his cat. He couldn't be seen.

Unless you went close to him…

"Fire!" The general ordered, as lead struck Zeit on all sides. He howled, and stomped on the gunners so they wouldn't shoot anymore.

The snow wasn't white anymore at most parts.

"General, sir! Its not working!" A private puffed, jerking his thumb backwards. "We should retreat!"

"Fall back, men!" Bowing ordered, and the men he had left ran in all directions, fleeing from the demon-menace in the camp.

Zeit was left alone.

He smiled, enjoying the taste of blood on his tongue. Most of the tents were still left standing, and he couldn't tell which one was his anymore.

"Edward!" He called, sniffing around for him. His many eyes swivelled around the campus, looking for any sign of the blonde. "Edward!"

He saw him- approaching slowly with a dark look on his face.

"Edward!" Zeit sprang over to him and lowered his head down to the boys level. He had all bruises and cuts over his face where he had been punched.

"Zeit, get back." Edward shuddered, keeping his eyes out of view.

"What?"

"I said get back!" Edward raised the gun and pointed it at Zeit's head. "Monster! Look at what you have done!"

"Do you not remember what I said to you? 'If anything tried to hurt you, I would kill them.'" Zeit spat back, fur on end. He had forgotten already.

"… B-but most of these people didn't even touch me!"

"But some of them did, and I cannot allow that." Zeits eyes glowed red, and he let out a snarl. _"I never forget my promises._"

Edward shivered, but held the gun steady. He knew it wouldn't kill the beast, but he could at least pretend it would.

"Edward!" Another voice called out from his side. He didn't even need to turn around, because he already knew it was Roy. "Drop it!"

"No." Edward turned his amber eyes onto Roy, how shrunk back at his icy stare. The man kept his gaze on Edward, because he knew that if he took his eyes off of him, he would see the death that lay all around him, and he didn't want to see that.

"Edward, bring it! Death will not come for me!" Zeit hissed, rearing up on his our back feet. Edward went to pull the trigger, but he stopped. Behind Zeit, a black shadow rose from the forest, and with it, came a small boy.

Alphonse.

"Edward." Tor smirked, holding out his squirming prize in his hand. "I think I have something you want."

* * *

Awww, im so cruel to Al. XD Ive been watching to much Yu-Gi-Oh…

REVIEWS!!!!

SwiftFeather: You are a Chinese! I luff china, so beautiful…I am British…. Did I say that right? Aw well XD Over here in England, we get a lot of rain! In fact, its raining right now! MMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!!!

Scarlet Sand Demon: YAY! LOOK AT ALL THE CAPLOCKS! THEY ROCK!!! DO YOU STILL LIKE ZEIT NOW??? MMMAAWWWAAAHHHAHAHAA!!!

Jenelric: Lol, never mess with the power of the British girl! She has tea! XD (I like coffee better though) Pumpkin fighting would be so cute! I should give her a gun:D

Sepapa-chan: Yay, Zeit doll! (Hugs) I used to sew… then I learnt how to knit… now I don't know how to do either XD

Yet again, sorry if your not here! I have 7 minutes to upload this, before I get kicked off the internet!!!!

WhiteWolfKitsune xxx

PS: Reviews will be used to get WhiteWolfKitsune some English lessons, because she has a weird accent that tourists don't understand… XD


	23. Death Howl

I went to the London MCM (or what ever it's called) anime convention! I was cosplaying as Kuro-neko from Trigun!

Are you ready for a fight sequence?

_Changing colors_

Edward's head spun rapidly, and he nearly fell when he saw Alphonse in Tor's grasp. He swung his head over to Roy to get answers from him, but the man just looked back with a guilty look on his face.

_Sorry._ He mouthed, eyes filled with regret.

Ed nodded numbly and redirected his gun to Tor.

"Let him go, you Bastard!" He growled frantically, his whole body shaking. Tor laughed and shook Alphonse a bit, making him cry out in alarm.

"He's mine now." The dragon sang. "But, I will trade this boy for him." He pointed a claw at Zeit, who was unfazed by the death glare he was getting.

Edward wanted Alphonse back! But, he couldn't get rid of Zeit, no matter how angry he was at him…

"Decide quickly, boy. The military is coming." Tor hissed, fins on his head quivering. Zeits ears were twitching on his head.

* * *

It was true- about 6 miles away, from the west, south and east, all in different positions, the Amestris army marched to avenge there fallen comrades. Word had got out quickly about the disaster of Camp 5, and the other camps had called in reinforcements from Central, East and West head-quarters. The coding they received from the Morse code line had been- 

-Wolf-Injuries-Backup-Briggs-Five-Serious

So they didn't actually know what to expect when they got there. Wolf? What the heck did that mean?

* * *

"It's a big army." Zeit whispered, crouching low to the ground. "Tor! You on me, lets fight!" 

"Fine. I wont need this then." Tor laughed and threw Alphonse to the ground harshly, his small frame skidding against the snow. Edward and Roy both yelped and ran over to him, hugging him tightly as he was starting to shiver.

"Are you Ok?!" Alphonse nodded weakly and gazed over to the woods. Then he looked back at Roy with big, glazed eyes.

"Huh?"

"He wants his cat." Edward answered for him. Alphonse nodded, and looked back to the forest. "Roy, go find Pumpkin. I'll stay here and watch over Zeit."

"Edward, n-" Roy was about to scold him, but he decided to let this one go as he picked up Alphonse and nodded to Edward.

"Stay safe."

"You tell me that too much. Of course I will." Edward smirked, and Roy scoffed. The man then ran into the impending forest with Alphonse leading the way back to his hidey hole.

He turned his attention back to the two monsters, who were snarling at each-other.

"Edward, may I make him wish he had never been born?" Zeit said in a polite tone. Edward grinded his teeth together and forced a smile to appear on his face.

"You may."

Zeit smiled, and hurled towards the black dragon at break-neck speed, the bodies of the dead crunching underneath his paws. When he got in front of Tor, he spun around on his front feet and bucked his back two feet and Tor's chest like a donkey, making him soar backwards. Tor hissed in pain and sluggishly tried to bite down on Zeits neck, but the wolf darted out of the way and he managed to get his tail instead. Lifting his head, he jerked him up into the air and slammed him against the ground hard, making him spit blood.

Edward watched the two beasts fight with interest and horror. If none of them could really die, how was either of them expecting to win?

* * *

4 miles left. 

"You shall face the enemy, and shall put him to sleep with your guns. Do you understand?"

"We understand, sir!"

Group 3 marched in from Central, and had the finest pike-men amongst them. They were also the ones with the Heavy-artillery weapons, and had the most soldiers, the estimated number of people being around 1500. They were not going to sit and let there friends fall to the enemy, who-ever they were.

This was a war, after all.

* * *

Group 8, from the west, had already hit snowy territory, at 3 miles. They could hear the crashes and thuds of something, but they didn't know what it was. 

"Don't fall, men! We hold the pride of Amestris!"

"Yes, sir!"

Their Generals were giving them support from up front, but they were still nervous. They didn't know how many had been killed from Camp 5, but they didn't want to join the list.

On their side, they had the rifle-men, and the snipers, who were following behind. They just hoped that the other groups had come prepared as their 900 men had.

* * *

Group 4, 1000 men from the East, trundled along with their machine guns and their light-weight turrets, moving at a faster pace because of that. They had only 2 miles to go. 

On the flat land, they could see Centrals group in the far, far distance, and Westerns group on the horizon. They stopped in the clearing and stood at attention, waiting for the other groups to get there.

In front of them, they could see the forest that bordered Drachma about a mile ahead of them.

"Stand tall, men. This will be a great day!" One of the Generals laughed. "We shall get our revenge!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

And, with that, they stood still and listened to the thumps and howls of the creature's that was probably going to cost their lives.

* * *

"Bastard!" 

Zeit had pinned one of Tor's wings to the ground and had snapped it in one swipe.

"What, me?" Zeit laughed, and leapt off of him lightly. Tor scrambled to his feet and roared, spines on his back ridged. He jump into the air and collided with Zeits back, making sure his claws had sunk firmly into his fur. Zeit howled and twisted around to snap at him, to find that his neck didn't bend that far.

"Get off!"

"Make me!"

Zeit rolled onto the floor and attempted to crush him, but the dragon stayed fixed to him, tearing his back to shreds. Zeit suddenly had a brain wave, and grabbed Tor's flailing tail and yanked hard, causing him to let go. Zeit swung his head as fast as he could so Tor went flying into the forest and collapsed in a heap at the bottom of a tree, panting.

"You can't kill me." Tor snarled, and shakily got back up. "Eat this!" he flew quickly despite his wing and lunged at Zeits throat, sinking his teeth into the tender flesh as blood flowed into his mouth. Zeit thrashed around, ramming himself into the floor, the trees, _anything_ just to get him off.

"Zeit, no!" Edward cried, but he was unable to really do anything but watch Zeit as he collapsed on the floor.

He was suffocating.

* * *

"Charge!" 

0.5 miles till Camp 5.

They ran swiftly into the forest, clicking the safety off there guns and holding their heads high.

0.3 miles till Camp five.

Their army was impressive from afar, as it was over 3000 men all armed to the teeth with guns of all kinds. The forest they were in was the only break in the flat-lands of Briggs, and this gave them excellent cover from who-ever they were fighting.

miles till camp five.

"Ready, men?!" All the generals from the three combined groups yelled at once.

"Yes sir!" was the thunderous reply.

"Then fire! Open fire!"

The men screamed there war cry's and, in a flurry of excitement, burst forth from the forest to stop immediately.

There was a gigantic wolf with six legs being pinned down by a dragon.

Their instinct was to run, but they stayed paralysed in fear. The people at the back, who had not managed to get out of the forest yet, didn't know what was happening. There was panic in the air.

Edward spun round from watching to see the army, jaw dropping to the ground. How many people were there? What was going on?

"Don't! Don't attack!" Edward yelled, waving his hands to distract them. He ran in front of the entire army as they started to murmur.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

"The Full-metal alchemist? I thought he was dead!"

"What the hell are those two things?"

"Screw this! This is suicide!"

"Listen!" Edward screamed, causing most of the eyes to fall on him. "The wolf, he's really good! The dragon wants to kill you all!"

"But why did the message say that the wolf done the damage? Kill them both, men!" The generals lifted their guns, and shot blindly at the two beasts. The men slowly started walking forward, and then broke into a run.

"For Amestris?!"

"For Amestris!"

Edward jumped out of the way to avoid being trampled by the soldiers, and watched in horror as they all shot at Zeit as well. Tor leapt off of the wolf and collided with the army head on, whilst Zeit stood up shakily and tried to fend off bullets, but found he was too weak to even stand properly.

Was this it?

Was he really dieing?

* * *

Pumpkin had watched as Big-lizard had taken Master and had flown off with him. She had cried for him to come back, but Big-lizard was not listening. Master was hers! He could not have him! 

She ran after Masters fading scent with sadness, but she could not find him. He had gone. That was ages ago.

Fluffing up her fur against the cold winds, she jumped over a log and landed lightly on the other side. She could hear Tall-man calling for her…

She meowed, listening as Tall-man called again. He had masters scent…

Master!

She scrabbled frantically around, searching for him, until she walked into Tall-man's leg, her nose bumping so hard against him, she mewed in surprise.

"Pumpkin!"

"Mew!"

She climbed up his leg and curled up against Master, who was petting her over and over again, much to her enjoyment. She had found him, and Tall-man!

Now, where was Small?

* * *

It was a blood-bath. 

The men that were not snapped in half by Tor's jaws where crushed beneath Zeit's claws as he tried to fight Tor while the dragon was distracted. The men were frantically firing in many directions, causing many friendly fire incidents.

"I'll kill all you bastards!" Tor screamed, crushing a few men as the people around them cried in distress at the gory sight. Zeit, meanwhile, was trying to protect Edward from any harm from his own side.

"Don't!" Edward cried, to find no-one listening.

"Edward!" Zeit panted. "Get out of here! I've got a plan!" Zeit hissed, picking Edward up in his mouth.

"No- What! Hey, put me down!" Edward yelled as Zeit ran from the battle to the Edge of the forest and nudged him in with his nose.

"Run. Find your father, and don't come back." Zeit stated, and jumped back into battle.

Edward stood there, paralysed, and slowly allowed his legs to carry him into the heart of the forest. He didn't want to leave… but the way the wolf had said it made his skin crawl. Behind him, he could hear the roaring of Tor still echoing, and the low growls of Zeit accompanying them-

"Edward!"

He was snapped out of his trance when he heard Roy, and turned around to find a scuffed up looking Alphonse and a relieved looking Roy.

_Run…. Don't come back._

"Roy, we have to go! Now!" Edward squeaked, and tugged at Roy's uniform.

"But im tired… had to hide from all those soldiers…" Roy puffed, but followed him anyway. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know, but Zeit said to go away." Edward stated, crunching twigs underneath his boots. "Something bad is going to happen!"

Roy mumbled something that sounded like 'something bad always happens to us' and kept running, until they were out of the forest and onto the snowy flat-land, where Edward sat down, tired and out of breath.

"Edward?" Roy asked, nudging the boy. He looked worried.

"Im not going any further than this with-out Zeit." Edward huffed, and folded his arms over his chest.

"I'll wait for him."

* * *

"_Edward…"_

The sound of gun-fire was echoing off the distant mountains, and through the ground they could feel every single step Tor or Zeit made. The air was alive with electricity and scented with the blood of the soldiers, as one by one they threw themselves at the on-coming beasts in order to uphold their pride and die a hero, like their families would have wanted.

"_Forgive me…"_

The men kept on coming, never stopping, guns glinting at their hands and their faces twisted into smiles of rage and anger. Their lungs were raw from shouting and their chest's hurt from carrying their standard armour.

"_You're not going to like this…"_

Zeit and Tor continued to two-step around the soldiers in a dance of death and destruction, both weary and tired of this continuous fighting. When would it end? Never? No-one could fight forever, and they were not sure that they could last for much longer. The men couldn't either.

"_It's worth it… if it's to protect you..."_

Zeit gasped as he felt another few bullets hit him square in the head, making him stagger backwards. His head was pounding, his fur was matted and his body was torn. He couldn't regenerate fast enough when he was continuously getting attacked. It was time.

"_Please…"_

Zeit crawled his way through the sea of dead bodies to the middle of the battle field, scrambling the hundreds of men that where still battling of Tor and attacking him. He watched as the world dimmed into a sepia tone, and the sound disappeared completely. Everyone moved in slow motion, and even his own movements were sluggish.

"_Im sorry…"_

He reared up on his back two legs so that his front four paws were in the air. Everyone stopped and turned to look at him as the wind whipped around his fur and his eyes went black and expressionless. And then, he threw his head up to the heavens and howled a howl that made everyone's blood freeze in there veins and their spines shiver uncontrollably. They all watched in horror as their body's started to slowly disappear before their very eyes, and some tried to get away, but they couldn't even move.

And so the howl continued.

"_It's over..."_

The wind carried it, and its strength grew until nothing could be heard but the death song of the demon wolf.

"_It's over."

* * *

_

o.O Creepy… Im not very good at writing fight scenes, so bare with me!

REVEIWS!!! (I got everyone this week!)

E.Mahiru: Yes, I know. Stupid, isn't it? They ask me questions like "Where is the train station?" and I, in my stupidly cockney (did I spell that right?!) accent, say "Yeah, man. Rite, you 'ave ta go to der crossin' ova there an' turn rite. Got it?" And then they look at me like im crazy and ask my mum… o.O I shout at the tourists a lot. Ok, push me and I'll say something like "Fuckin' wanker" and storm off. But, push me when im on a trip to the vets because my cat Coco needs a checkup, and im going to MURDER YOU. Ok, im done on my little 'London tourist' rant. :D

AkitaFallow: Lol, hurting Al is fun! –Gets hit by many objects- WHAT?! XD Don't hide in a corner! Zeit likes corners! o.O (Zeit: mmmmm… AkitaFallow…)

SwiftFeather: NOOOOOOOOO!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!! –Crys- you must find time to come online and write fiction! –Hits you in the head- Don't make me appear at your house in the middle of the night with a chainsaw… :D

I'll Wait For Him: And I will help save Alphonse! –Puts on mask- Back off, we are here! –Brings out toy cat- Fear me and the cat of doom!!!! Alphonse: o.O

Shikuki: Oh no! Pumpkin is evil! –Sweat-drops- Maybe its because shes… hungry? Yeah, that's right! –Whispering- Must.. stick up… for cat…

Dark Chocolate Alchemist: -Blushes- -Gives you virtual cookie- Thank you! I don't think my writing is that great. My imagination comes from… I dunno! XD Im just crazy!

Lupus Animi: -Blushes again- I know! Im privileged to have some of these reviewers! But of course, I love them all! –Huggles all reviewers- HECK YEAH!! ENGLISH AND PROUD!!! –Jumpjumpjump- Thank you for complimenting my writing! Yes, I must check them spelling errors… all 100000 of them… o.O

Scarlet Sand Demon: REALLY?! THANKYOU!! –HUGS- I LOVE CLIFF-HANGERS!!! THEY MAKE THINGS MUCH MORE ANNOYING:D

LostGryffindorFoundslytherin: Yay! Go OMG's!

Ayumi Elric: Lol, you made me laugh so much! "Die, useless men, die!" THEY HADE MADE-UP FAMILY'S, DAMMIT!!!! XD

BakuraNeko: A Bakura-fan, perhaps? He's soooo hottt…. –Drools- You know that you've had too much Yu-Gi-Oh when you want Malik (The non-evil one) and Bakura (The evil one) AND Ryou Bakura to visit you at night and- -Is cut off by rabid fan-girls-

EdElricRules: Still loving your "over and out" reviews! -Hugs you- Lol, Tor bashing! –Joins in- -Hits him on the head with a rubber mallet- XD

Jenelric: XD Anvil storm! When I was righting that bit, I was typing so furiously my hand hurt! Those jerks! Im going to resurrect them with the philosophers stone and kill them again!!! –Looks at 13 '!'- OMG! SOMETHING BAD DID HAPPEN!!! O.O Wow, I have to learn that killing off fictional people is bad… ah well. They DID deserve it. :D

Yakami: It just gets worse:D

TenshiElric: Update or die?! –Shivers- I don't have much of a choice… o.O

Bar-Ohki: Al has a really bad life, doesn't he? XD

EdwardElricsFan4Ever: Everyone's saying poor Al! XD he has more fans than I thought!

Did I get everyone? Yes? Phew! I hope I pulled this chapter off, because it was bloody hard to write…

Reviews will be used… for…er… stalking Ed:D Go on, press the purple button… you know you want too… mmwwwahahaaha…

PS: As you can see, we are reaching the end to our little tale. Only 2-3 chapters left! –Crys- NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!


	24. The End

_Changing colors_

"_Im sorry…"_

"_Im sorry…"_

"_Its over."_

They didn't know what it was at first, but after a while they began to pick out the distinct sound of _howling._ It was quiet and subtle, but both Edward and Roy immediately snapped their heads up at the sound.

Ed jumped up into the air, but was pinned down by Roy who already knew what he was trying to do.

"Roy! Let me up-"

"Edward-"

"No, Roy! Let go-"

"Edward, please-"

"Roy-"

"EDWARD! LISTEN!" Roy hissed, startling the boy. "I allowed us both to go on this 'trip' and I let Alphonse accompany us, I allowed you to keep that _thing_, that has caused your life to be a living hell, under the same roof as us, AND I have been patient with your constant disappearing acts! I am lenient, Edward, but I am NOT to be taken for granted!"

Edward stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Now, there is some sort of civil war going on, because of your creature-thing. I don't want you anywhere near that, even if it is out there. Your life is at risk… and I can't lose you."

Edward looked downward, upset. Though, he did feel like he had every right to get scolded. He felt Roy ruffle his hair before pulling Alphonse, and Pumpkin, close, where they all sat and listened.

It sounded like there was thunder in the background, accompanied by the eerie howl and the occasional gunshot. The wind was whipping around their bodies, partially obscuring their view, and the ground was shaking…

Out of nowhere, a bright glow emitted from the battlefield behind them, hidden by the trees. At first, it was bright white, but then, it faded to black and disappeared completely. Just like the alchemy did…

Here was no howl now- no gunshot, either. There wasn't even any wind. It was all creepily silent, and it put them all on edge.

"Is it over?" Edward whispered, glancing around him. "Did someone use alchemy?"

Roy shrugged and stood up with the shivering Alphonse, who looked like he was deep in thought. He screwed up his face and exhaled deeply, rolling his tongue around his mouth.

"Yyyyyyaa…."

The two alchemists blinked in unison.

"… Wait a second…"

"Did he just…?"

Roy and Edward looked at him dumbly, in shock. That was the first, real noise that didn't sound like he was choking they had heard him speak since the 'accident'!

"Roy! He made a noise!" Edward squeaked, hugging Al. Al nodded in a scientific way, and then pointed to the forest, making the sleeping cat in his arms jump in surprise.

Getting over the shock of his brothers attempt of speaking, he rounded on Roy.

"Roy, can we go check it out. Pllleeeaaassseee?" Edward almost meowed, giving him the biggest eyes he could. "Al thinks we should." Roy sighed and shook his head.

"Don't run off, follow me." He began to briskly walk into the forest, with a bemused and confused Edward in tow. What where they going to find out on the battlefield? Had Tor killed Zeit? Or the other way round?

Edward gritted his teeth together and tried to clear his head. He couldn't hate the wolf; after all, destroying people was his job. But those bullies at the camp… the people at Roy's house… The dog… and all the others: Had they just been accidents? Edward couldn't help but feel partially responsible…

He was sure he head already had this conversation with himself before…

Nearly tripping over a branch brought him back to reality. Roy was ploughing ahead, and Edwards (regrettably) small legs were hurrying to keep up. Before long, they were in front of the bushes that lined the walls of the battlefield.

"Edward, I want you to brace yourself for what you see next." Roy whispered, and stepped out into the light, expecting the worse. Edward copied his movements. The both opened their eyes slowly and where shocked to see…

Absolutely nothing.

Not a trace of blood, not a body, not a wolf or a dragon to be found. It looked like there hadn't even been a camp there, as if the whole thing didn't even happen.

"All those soldiers… all the bodies… gone…" Roy shivered, looking down at Edward, who was in shock.

"Zeit!" He called, taking a step forward.

"Zeit!" yet again, no-one answered. He ran forward and spun around in a complete circle, expecting to see the wolf bounding towards him, or locked in battle with the obsidian-dragon that was fighting him. No-one was there.

"Roy…. Where is Zeit?" Edward asked, walking back towards him with hopeful eyes. Yes, Roy would know. He was an adult, and they knew everything-

"I-I don't know…" Roy breathed, and swept the scene. He was just getting over the fact that everything had disappeared. He locked his eyes suddenly on something that stood out on the white canvas: a single black speck. Apparently, Edward had followed his gaze and was also staring at it.

He felt himself automatically sprinting over to it, and began to dig it out with his hands. It was just a rock. He had hoped it was black fur or something. He felt his heart plummet fifty feet, and began to feel tears welling up in his eyes. What had happened…

"_Edward…_"

He whirled around to look for the source of the voice, but he couldn't find it.

"_Alchemy…"_

Edward looked down at his real-yet-not-so-real hands and placed them slowly together, watching Roy's surprised reaction. It was gone in a flicker of light though, as he fell back onto the yellow scenery he knew so well:

The Gate.

* * *

"_Zeit, you Bastard!" Tor watched in horror as the howl stopped and shadows began to rise from the ground, dragging people down with them. The soldiers watched in horror as their bodies slowly disappeared, until nothing was left of them. Tor and Zeit were suffering the same fate. _

_It felt like he was being eaten up inside, and then being sawed in half over and over again. But he accepted it, because he had chosen this fate. Tor was screaming and withering around on the floor as the basic elements in his bodies where ripped apart and sacrificed, along with everyone else. Soon, it was only Zeit and the dragon left. Everything else had disappeared._

"_..W-hyy..." Tor gasped, fading into nothingness. He spared one last look at his enemy and clung to life; just long enough to hear the answer._

"_Because I care."_

_And soon enough, he found himself at the Gate, to be eaten by the darkness._

_Meanwhile, Zeit's spirit lingered on the field, absorbing the power that the people and Tor had given to the Gate. He couldn't leave yet…. Edward was calling for him…_

"_Edward…" He breathed, feeling his life draining away slowly._

"_Alchemy…"

* * *

_

"Zeit!" His voice sounded dreamy, and time was moving slowly, almost _warping_ around him. He felt like he was spinning, even though he knew very well that he was standing still.

The shadows gathered into a dark form in front of the Gate's entrance, one with a pointed muzzle and a thousand eyes. Edward squeaked, and tried to run over to him, but his feet were stuck fast to the ground below him.

"Zeit!"

"Edward…" The wolf began, looking down. "Im sorry."

"For what?"

"I sacrificed everyone in the battle… to erase my memory and destroy myself."

"What?!" Edward gasped, struggling against the invisible bonds. Zeit' body was fading slightly, so he was somewhat transparent.

"Im going to try and destroy myself, if the Gate will let me. But if it comes down to the worse, I will erase my memory, so I won't know how to break free again."

"Stay! You don't need to go!"

"I do." Zeit almost smirked, baring his teeth. "I called upon the Gate, and you can't receive without giving…"

"So you're giving yourself up to it?" Edward hissed, emotions raging. "What about Tor?"

"Hes gone. Forever."

"But-"

"I don't know if it will work… but I can't return to the real world anymore. Soon, im going to disappear…"

"No!"

"I chose this way." Zeit walked up to Edward, and touched his nose to the boys. "Its been a pleasure meeting you."

"Zeit! Don go!" Edward cried, able to hug the wolf now that he was close enough. Zeit was almost transparent now, but he still made sure to hug the part where there wasn't any scary-looking eyes staring at him.

"I-Im going to miss you…"

"Likewise… After all: I had no-one else to talk too before you came."

"I know… idiot. After all the s-shit you put me through, I am still g-going to miss you."

"What, have we resorted to insults now?" The wolf chuckled, fur shifting. "I thought we were friends."

His tone of voice caused Edward to laugh lightly, but he could feel the tears again, lurking behind his eyes.

"Stay safe."

"I…I…"

That caused the tears to fall. They fell hard, like he had never cried before. The fur was still fading, almost gone now. Yet he couldn't stop holding on, hoping that this was all a dream. That when he would wake up, his puppy would be sitting by his bed with a smart-ass comment in his mind.

Or that he would find himself fighting, and Zeit, with his jaws of steel, would be along side him, cheering him on.

"Don't worry…"

"Are you going so soon?!"

"I'll be fine."

"No!"

Edward continued to cry against him, fur tickling his face. _Don't go, don't go, don't go…_

"_I will always be there."_

Edward felt him disappear instantly, and he was yet again falling. There was darkness on one side, light on the other. Zeit was flying upwards, and he was falling downwards, until they were not in sight of each other. Edward called for him again, but was answered with the creaking of the Gates doors and mechanical laughter, taunting him.

He was suddenly back with Roy, who was looking worried.

That was it.

Zeit was gone.

* * *

All these days. All this time. All those moments. Snapped up in an instant. What were memories, anyway. Pictures were a good example of memories: snapshots. Made to capture the moment.

Sometimes, though, the picture was unclear. Even blurry. Though most of the time, the second is captured perfectly- and you can look back over the years and reminisce about the image.

Yes, pictures were a good thing.

As Zeit stared the hidden array within the Gate, he pondered these thoughts. Soon, the pictures that resided in his head would be gone, and he would return to what gave him life. He didn't want too, but he knew that it was for the best.

He swam around in the darkness, the small runes and symbols in the circle. It was _huge._ Even bigger than the Gate itself, in fact. The white light was blinding, but the continued on, activating one bit after the other.

4th section would allow others in the world to use Alchemy, but wouldn't let the 2nd world, the one opposite to the alchemic world, use it. 1st section, the one that was activated first (of course) applied to equivalent exchange. That, Zeit felt, was important.

The other sections glowed, and light began to pool into the middle of the circle that Zeit was floating around.

This could have all been avoided…

The man Zeit called 'Master' had worked hard, and was some sort of semi-god in alchemic terms. He had warped peoples mind, created demons to plague them, and had killed the innocent. He was a demon himself.

Tor, a rebound, was his mind servant. Zeit wasn't sure who he was working under, but the person was evil, and had been manipulating him. The wolf, however, was a rouge experiment that was an accident. He wasn't meant to be. None of Garser's creations were.

All of them… Evil…

Edward had just been too pure, and that what must have caused him to get free of the Gate.

The circle was almost fully lit up. Zeit smirked in anticipation. Like he was going to be afraid of that _thing_. Just a mass of death, a portal of worlds. He could see the lines joining, penetrating the dark around him. He revolved all his eyes ahead of him, so he could meet his fate head on.

He smirked as the light dissolved him. He was slipping away, and he could feel the stored energy raging past him, returning to the Alchemists. Then suddenly, he went blank. He turned feral, and his fur grew longer and wild. Blood spurted from his mouth, and leaked from his many eyes, falling into the dark abyss under him.

He could feel that something was going wrong, but the pressed on anyway.

"Take me!" He snarled, in a rougher voice than usual. "Take me away!"

The Gate didn't listen…

It wouldn't…

It _couldn't…_

It left him stranded.

* * *

"Edward, stop crying!" Roy soothed, patting him on the back. "What did you do? What happened when you used alchemy?"

"Zeit…" Edward hissed, angry. "He's gone…"

Alphonse was hugging his kitten in the background, his head cocked as he listened. The puppy had gone… And so had the evil dragon that had once captured him…

"What? Edward, where did you go?!" Roy asked again, shaking him. Edward shook his head and continued to mope. "Edward, I can't carry you and Alphonse anywhere, and we are in the middle of _nowhere_. No-one knows were even out here…" Roy suddenly shivered at the thought.

How the hell were they going to get home?

"Come on, Edward. We have a long way to walk." Roy said, pulling him up with his free arm. He then scooped Alphonse and Pumpkin up and proceeded to stiffly walk in one direction.

_All those men… All those lives… Their families… Their partners… Their friends…_

"Don't brood, Dad." Edward sniffed, and pulled on his sleeve. "Don't brood."

Roy blinked and smiled half heartedly. Edward could act so adult-like sometimes. But, in the end, he was just a child. A lost, confused child, with many problems. He could act big and scary, he could act all heroic, or even use his God-like powers to show off, but he was still just a child.

"A short one, at that…" Roy mumbled to himself. Edward felt a vein pop in his head somewhere.

"What. Did. You. Say?" He hissed, deathly quiet. Roy's eyes widened as Alphonse chuckled in his arms.

"I didn't say nothing!" And he sprinted off into the horizon, holding Al close. Edward growled and chased after him, eager to snap is neck in two.

_Don't worry, Zeit. _He thought absentmindedly. _I'll find you. After all…_

Roy had fallen over in front of him, and was holding Alphonse in the air, laughing. Pumpkin was purring and sitting on Roy's stomach.

_You said you would always be there.

* * *

_

Reviews!!!

E.Mahiru: I luff gore! It's my middle name… XD Hurrah for cat owners!

Ara Mei: You shall… -Sweatdrops- I'll come quietly!!!

I'll wait for him: -Once again joins you in cosplaying- -Pulls out Ed doll- Here, Zeit… come get Edward… XD

Zeit: … Fuck off! Im not into Beast/man yaoi!

Me: … kukukukukuku…. :D

RippingAtYourHeart: London MCM was Awsomeness! Are you coming next May? Its gonna Rock! You get to see WhiteWolfKitsune in cosplay XD

Scarlet Sand Demon: Lol, I like long Reviews:D I cant even remember what I was thanking you for… I have the memory of an ant XD Cliff hangers are the ultimate annoying machine! But, as I have already said, I love them:D

Ayumi Elric: Lol, If I killed Roy, the fan girls would kill me… :D Elric!Angst rocks! Its hard to write, though! XD

Yakami: MMMMMMMMMWAAAAAAAAHHHAAA!! Aren't I evil?! XD

SwiftFeather: No, the RP site doesn't deserve you! FanFiction . net needs you! –Crys- Come online and write more!!! –Puppy dog eyes- Pweeaaassee?

Kaleigh-san: Lol, that's the point! XD Its all in the writing… -Creepy-

Bar-Ohki: It would be cruel if he didn't! XD

EdwardElricsFan4Ever: 

Zeit: Yeah, but he can't hurt me.

Ed: -Throws knife at him- -Hits him in one of his eyes-

Zeit: ToT Owww!!!

Jenelric: XD –Gives you a cookie- You can't kill yourself! You'll make Al cry! And nobody wants that! Luckily for you, there's not much time left! XD –Gives you a Tor plushie- Destroy it:D

BakuraNeko: I love them ALL!!!!! They are sooo hot! I like Tendershipping… A lot… -Bishie overload- This fic cause's you pain? –Gives you Ryou-

Ryou: -Starts crying-

WhiteWolfKitsune: MMMWWWAHAHAH!! Smex slave:D

LostGryffindorFoundSlytherin: Lol, Al doesn't need a break! I like to watch him suffer… -Everyone stares- o.O What?!

Shikuki: Lol, Pumpkin rocks! XD –Gets scratched by her- Owww! I guess she only likes al then… -Sweatdrops-

AkitaFallow: -Sighs- I remember when this fic also started… good times… -soft music is playing- It was my first fic, and it rapidly spiralled out of control when a murdering wolf demon took control of a little boy… XD Woot! Pumpkin owns ALL!!!

Dark Chocolate Alchemist: -Sweatdrops- Lol, so many Zeit fans! He is a serial murderer… Oh well. Hes cute:D

Lupus Animi: I know how you feel. My school work is messing up my precious fanfiction time!! XD –Takes away your gun- No, there will be no more suicide.

Zeit: But I wanted to eat-

WhiteWolfKitsune: -Hits him- Shhh, we'll get to that later… :D

OOOOMMMMMMMMGGGGGGG NEARLY OVERRR!!! –Crys- One chapter left!!! XD

Reviews will be used to help WhiteWolfKitsune on her Cosplay for next year: She's going to be a Blue-Eyes-white-Dragon from Yugioh!

PS: Lol, Zeit's got fangirl's! XD

Zeit: -Is wearing a thong- WTF???!!??!!?


	25. Owari

_By degree of the Fuhrer King,_

_Certificate of Bravery. _

_We hear-by award one Roy Mustang and one Edward Elric Amestris's Silver Lion medallion on behalf of their work in the North and for ridding the State of the Black demons which took the lives of many of the finest soldiers in existence._

_Though no longer working for the State Military, they have a choice to return to the military with higher ranks then they both held, or they can choose to leave with honour. The choice is entirely up to them, and will not be influenced by others within or without the Service._

_How ever, Edward Elric will still be seen as a danger to many, and so will have to be watched constantly by a member of the State. We cannot forget the crimes he has committed, but we can remember the feats he has preformed. _

_Honour,_

_Pride,_

_Tradition._

_His Excellency,_

_Fuhrer king Bradley.

* * *

_

"Edward! 'Cant catch me!"

"Wanna bet?"

"Catch me too!"

"Hey, this isn't fair!"

Alphonse and Winry laughed simultaneously, and began to race away from the sulking Edward. How was he supposed to catch them both?

"Don't sulk, Edward." Izumi sighed from the sidelines, making him sit up straight.

"Yes, miss." He shuffled away and decided to watch his brother and Winry play around in the long grass, being watched over by the ever alert Izumi. She had returned.

_Returned._

But from where, no-one knew. It was completely random when she had appeared in Rizembool one morning. Of course, everyone was overjoyed. But when she was asked where she had been all that time, she replied:

"What? I haven't been anywhere."

It seemed like she didn't remember _anything_ that had happened since the whole Garser incident at the beginning. And even better:

The Gate had returned her organs.

A _miracle._

There was no more blood spitting, coughing, or being bed ridden. It was like nothing was even taken in the first place. To her, the last few weeks had been nothing more than an eventful time span in Dublith, with the sudden reappearance of her organs, to which she was grateful.

No-one told her what had really happened.

Edward was suddenly roused from his thoughts as two people exited the house, linking arms and laughing happily. They noticed Edward watching and beckoned him over.

"Mom, Dad?" He questioned, noticing their unusually happy mood. Something very good had happened apparently.

The Drachman's had retreated as soon as Alchemy had been restored, leaving Amestris victorious. Where the Alchemy had gone in the first place was a mystery to everyone else but Edward, Roy, and Alphonse, who of course, knew the truth.

Pumpkin was settling in fast, but she did not like Den. Every time she saw him, she went on a psycho spree and began to try and scratch his eyes out. She did, however, love Black Hayate, who enjoyed sharing company with the cat.

And as for Envy, no-one knew. He hadn't been sighted for a while, and for that they where thankful. It was not like they wanted to see him.

So all in all, they had a lot to be happy about.

"Edward, we finally bought the house! We won't have to rent anymore!" Roy laughed, pulling him into a hug.

"We can be like one, big, happy family." Riza smiled.

"But Mom," Edward turned to Riza as soon as his father let go. "How could we afford it? It was hard just renting it."

"Well… Your father…"

"You rejoined the Military, didn't you, Dad." Edward sighed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Im a General now! I get so much money, I can even afford to keep you now!" Roy laughed, making Edward pout.

"Well then, Im joining too."

"What?!" Roy and Riza cried simultaneously. "But Alphonse is normal now!"

"I know, I know. But If I join, I can use my alchemy for something. Besides," He looked around. "I don't like to stay in one place."

Roy and Riza glanced cautiously at each other, internally discussing it.

"You know, Im going to be 17 soon. Almost an adult, in fact."

"But, you still act like a child." Roy stated, making Riza roll her eyes. She knew arguments between the two lasted for ever.

"If you want to join, then join." Riza nodded, earning a running hug from Edward.

"But, Honey-bun-" Roy stopped as she reached to her side, as if to grab her gun. He knew better than to argue with that.

"If you go brother, I go too!" Alphonse joined the hug, crushing Edward. His speaking had improved, though some times he forgot words for seemingly no reason.

"And when you break your auto-mail (which Im sure you will do) I will be there to fix it for you." Winry also joined the hug, smiling like a Cheshire cat. She finally had the old Edward back.

They all broke apart after an eternity, and turned to the setting sun which was orange and red against the darkening sky. This was going to be another interesting year in Amestris.

The adoptive forms had been signed, and Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye were now parents of the Elric brothers. They had to bend the rules a bit, because it stated that in order for the two to adopt them, they had to be married. But luckily, Riza was known as the best sniper in the whole of Amestris, and Roy was the Hero of the north, and this gave them special privileges.

Edward and Alphonse wanted to keep their name's, since 'the Mustang brothers' didn't sound as good as 'the Elric brothers'. They were both happy to be in family.

And as for the whole Riza/Roy situation… they were happy together. Forget the fraternization law.

"So, _General_, what's the next move we make?" Edward queried, enjoying the last of the light.

"I figure we should go back to Central and gear up for an assignment… and paperwork…" Roy trailed off with a loud sigh.

"Don't worry, dear. I'll make sure you do it." Riza patted his head softly, earning a glare from her companion.

"I'll go back to Dublith." Izumi said bluntly, looking forward to seeing her husband again.

"So, were settled then?" Edward smiled, tucking his hands into his pocket.

"I guess so. Lets see if we can stop the Full-metal alchemist from getting into trouble." Roy joked, making everyone laugh.

"You can try." Edward pouted, trying to suppress a laugh himself. "Trouble finds me."

And they all stood together, and watched the sun sink into the backdrop. It was a beautiful moment, one they wanted to last forever. And hopefully, there lives would be better after this: No more Homunculi, no Philosophers stone, no crazed Alchemists.

No death.

No destruction.

Just quiet.

And hopefully, peace.

* * *

_Life._

_You can mess with it, destroy it, play with it, make it or embrace it. _

_Unless you were made to do those things, you shouldn't mess with it. Its something everything has; the greatest gift of all, and to take it is to rob someone of meaning and existence. _

_Which is ok, if you belong to the Gate._

"_Oh goody, here comes another one." _

_The voice was low and gruff, and had a throaty edge to it. Pitch black on a yellow canvas, the Gate loomed over it as it stood in a slouchy manner, trying not to get distracted._

"_Name." It said to the man in front of it, who was cowering before it. _

"_Please don't hurt me! I beg of you!" The man pled, getting on his hands and knees. _

"_Stupid mortal, you are already dead. Begging will not get you anywhere."_

_The man shivered unpleasantly at the voice and jolted backwards as the thing turned its head to him. It was ugly; a giant canine looking creature with no eyes, six legs and antlers. Its fur was blood soaked, and the bored expression it held told the man it had done this before._

"_Fine. Be gone." It said, the Gate behind opened, and black tendrils engulfed the man in a flurry of movement, leaving the beast there alone once again._

"_How boring… I can't believe Im stuck here…" It sighed, clicking its claws against the floor. "How many people are dying today, for god's sake…"_

_This time, a woman appeared, but she didn't cower like the others before her, even when she saw the creature. This fascinated it. _

_It heaved itself up, walked up to her and sniffed her over, causing her to take an involuntary step backwards. _

"_I've seen you before…" It pondered, opening its many eyes to see her better. "What is your name?"_

"_Izumi." She stated, glaring at it. "Why am I here?"_

_The beast ignored the question and mulled over the name in its mind. She was linked to someone… blonde hair… gold eyes... but who was it?_

"_E….E…" It couldn't remember. "Do you know someone? Gold eyes?"_

_Izumi blinked and wondered where this was going._

"_Edward...?"_

_The beasts mind clicked. Yes, It was Edward who had gold eyes. But, what was this person to him?_

"_Go. And take what the Gate took from you." The beast waved her away with its paw, causing her to look up in confusion._

"_Go back to the mortal world, and remember nothing." _

_And then she disappeared, leaving him alone again. That was odd, it thought, where did she come from in the first place?_

_It didn't really matter though, for she was a mere human, and he was a beast of divine creation. But, it still couldn't get that name out of his head. _

_Edward…_

_So familiar, yet so unfamiliar. It ignored the nagging feeling in its mind and closed its eyes, resting its head on its paws. Maybe one day, he would meet this 'Edward', and sort things out._

"_Do you here that, Gate?" It said aloud, listening as the Gate creaked behind him._

"_One day, I will know why I am here, and what my purpose is. And one day, I will find 'Edward'."_

_The Gate creaked in acknowledgement, making the wolf smile evilly. It let out a low laugh and let its claws scrape the floor, emitting a metallic sound._

"_Edward… I will meet him."_

_The laugh grew wickeder._

"_And he will give me answers."_

_And the beast sat with a smirk on its face, content with its new knowledge. _

_This wasn't the end._

_It was only the beginning.

* * *

_

It's finished… -Cries-

All reviews will be answered in my super-special Authors note next chapter!

Reviews will be used as tissues for WhiteWolfKitsune… -Is still crying-

Ps: WhiteWolfKitsune has a deviant art:

http/whitewolfkitsune. Deviantart. com/

She has drawn a picture of Zeit death howling, which she will upload soon! If you want to talk to me or ask me something, you can catch me on there and we can have a leisurely chat! XD (Dont be shy, I can talk forever)


	26. Thanks from WhiteWolfKitsune

Hello from WhiteWolfKitsune!!! (If your wondering why Im so late posting this, its because I was in Egypt… -Takes off sunglasses- And when I came back to England, it was raining… no surprises there)

Yes, this is a super-special awesome Authors Note from Kitsune-kun, or WWK as she is commonly known as. Yes, she does like to talk about herself in this context, and she will continue to do so. :D

ANYWAY, she would like so say a BIG thanks to anyone that reviewed. That's right, ANYONE. Doesn't matter if it was one word, ten words, a novel, or a smilie (lol!) she still says thanks. This was her FIRST FIC online, and she thinks it has become quite popular. She didn't expect that at all! Oo

The whole idea came from this random program she was watching. It involved a guy which was experimented on, and became part wolf. He started to go psycho and kill people, and acted all emo and stuff. It inspired her a lot to write this fic, weird as it may seem.

Zeit: … What?

Ed: Yeah, what exactly is this all about?

Well, im just thanking people and explaining-

Zeit: We don't care! Hurry up, so we can go party!

… Ok…

So anyway, Reviews will now be answered here:

E.Mahiru: And so she shall! Thanks for reviewing, man! I was reading your work before I even signed up to this website!!! –Worships- Arigato!

Scarlet Sand Demon: And so, she declared the sequel for all to see!!!!

I'll Wait For Him: Thank you! –Cries- Don't worry, Im writing a sequel!!! –Uses tissue box as a hat- Write away!!!

Kyorma: I smell a sequel!! –Is wearing dog mask- My computers acting up too!!! –Kicks it-

Ayumi Elric: My Emo corner is now occupied by Ed dolls!! YAY!!! Thank you!!

Ara Mei: -Hugs- Yeah, there is a squeal! Im in the process of writing it!!! I'll tell you!!

Lupus Animi: Its super-special-awsome!!

Dark Chocolate Alchemist: -Is spazzing out- OMG!!! –Hugs- You… you… -Cries- Im so happy!! T.T I think I have gotten better (except I STILL cant spell)! I hope the next one can be way better than this! I love you!!!

MithLuin: I shall!!

Bar-Ohki: How could I not:D

AkitaFallow: Yes, I remember when I first wrote this fic, meaning for it to not end like this!! But, randomly, it did! Bad Zeit! No! Don't hurt Ed! –Also shakes fist feebly-

Zeit: GRGGGRGRGRGGRRRRRRRR!!!!!

… I don't think its is working…

BakuraNeko: -Is munching cookie- Thank you! They taste like ice-cream!!! (Wtf?!)

Shikuki: I like too!

jenelric: -Hugs- Everyone shall go back to the military and get drunk!!! –Joins in, even though she is underage-

Yakami: -Gives you coffee anyway- Roy is so cute! In the sequel, he's going to have many nicknames for Riza!!!

RippingAtYourHeart: -Nudgenudgehinthintwinkwink- yes… many more stories… -Shifty eyes- Everyone wishes FMA ended happily, but they had to separate them!! –Cries-

Yup, you all deserve to be WORSHIPPED. –Bows- Without you, WhiteWolfKitsune is nothing.

And yes, you people are right. There IS GOING TO BE A SEQUEL. She doesn't actually know the title of it yet, but she promises the sequel is going to be ten times better than the original.

The Sequel is going to be a physiological fic which will contain confusing words and dark themes. It is going to revolve around Edward's mentality when dealing with certain situations and is set mostly at a-

Zeit: Don't ruin it!!!

I can do what I want!!! –Sticks out tongue-

Zeit: -Is pouting- Am I in it?

Of course… it wouldn't be a sequel if you wasn't there…

Zeit: Yay!!! –Goes off to torment people-

ANYWAY (again) as she said before, she appreciates you all for reading her fic, and promises there will be a lot more to come from her.

And as she said before, she has devientart, and she has drawn a picture:

http:// whitewolfkitsune. deviantart. com /art/ Death-Howl-71877015 (Without spaces)

This is my base, where I am usually online. :D Ive already located certain people online… you know who you are… I WILL FIND ALL MY REVIEWERS EVENTUALLY SO DON'T HIDE. :D

So, without much further ado:

Have a festive holiday, stay warm this Christmas, and use Ed as a blanket!

Loving you all,

WhiteWolfKitsune xxxxxxxxxxx


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